Information and waiver forms

9/24/09

The flu in general, and the H1N1 flu in particular, is causing an unusually high number of absences in some places in Texas and some campuses have already closed. TEA has a website devoted to the Flu which contains general advice and other information. Pay special attention to the August 24 letter from the Commissioner of Education.

Texas school districts’ income is based on the average number of students actually present at school and students absent due to illness are not counted present. Excused absences mean that the student will have an opportunity to make up missed work. While there is considerable variation from district to district, each day a student is absent will, on the average, cost the district more than $50. 

When a campus is closed, the calculation of Average Daly Attendance automatically compensates and there is no financial penalty. When a large number of students are absent, however, there is no automatic adjustment. There is, however, a provision in law which “Allows the district or campus to request that any instructional days with attendance at least ten (10) percentage points below the last school year’s average attendance due to weather, health or safety issues be excluded from ADA calculations for the current school year.”

The applications for the low attendance waivers and to close school can be found on the TEA Waiver Applications webpage. 

There is also an online form which will post school closing information on the TEA website.