To the Adminstrator Addressed

April 20, 2007

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

SUBJECT: Student Enrollment from Texas Youth Commission

This letter is to provide your district with information about school-age individuals being released from the Texas Youth Commission (TYC). As you may have seen in the press, as many as 500 individuals currently incarcerated at TYC will be released in the near future, with the potential for additional releases over the next few months. I want to assure you that TEA is in close contact with other state agencies that can provide services to these students, both during the school year and over the summer.

With few exceptions, a school-age student released from TYC who does not have a high school diploma is eligible to enroll and attend school in the same manner as any other person1. Please be aware that an individual is entitled to enroll in a public school if he or she meets any of the criteria for eligibility under Section 25.001 of the Texas Education Code (TEC). While subsection (d) of that section allows a school district to in some cases decline to enroll a student under the age of 18 who is living in a district separate from a parent, guardian or other person having control over the student under a court order, and who is on “probation or other conditional release”, most individuals will still be eligible to enroll under Subsection (b)(1) or (3) based on residence with a parent, guardian or other person with lawful control under a court order2. A person residing in the district who is 18 or older is entitled to enroll under Subsection (b)(8). An individual under the age of 21 on September 1 and who has a GED but not a high school diploma is eligible to enroll 3.

Once enrolled, placement of a student is generally within the discretion of the district. However, only students whose conduct amounts to the most serious (Title 5) felonies may automatically be placed in a district disciplinary alternative education program (DAEP)4. The district’s local code of conduct may provide for additional reasons to remove a student to a DAEP and should be consulted.

To promote successful transition to public school for students released from TYC, school districts are strongly encouraged to utilize, develop, and make available summer school services that are transitional in nature to address the social, emotional and academic skills such students will need for the coming school year. In addition to academic instruction (which may include GED preparation), services may include organizational, time management, and self- monitoring skills typically necessary for school success. This group of students may need assistance in re-developing social skills required for successful reintegration into the community.

1 General information about enrollment and attendance is available on the agency website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/taa/legal080206.html for the 2006-2007 school year. This letter will be updated for 2007-2008 over the summer. 2 A charter school may deny enrollment to students with a documented history of a criminal offense, a juvenile court adjudication, or discipline problems under Chapter 37, Subchapter A, if its charter so provides. Tex. Educ. Code § 12.111(a)(6)(A). 3 Section 29.087(h), EC. 4 Sections 37.006(d) and 37.0081, TEC. Note that students are entitled to some procedural safeguards under Section 37.009, TEC. To the Administrator Addressed Page 2

Districts should also seek involvement and assistance of community based organizations and non-profit groups.

A significant portion of the individuals being released from TYC will have previously received special education services. Under Title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section §300.323(e), a school must provide a free appropriate public education to a student with a disability, including services comparable to those the student received at the previous educational placement, until the school either adopts the student’s previous individualized education program (IEP) or develops a new IEP. In addition, under 34 CFR §300.323(g), a school must take reasonable steps to promptly obtain a transferring student’s educational records, while the previous school must take reasonable steps to promptly respond to the request. The Agency is attempting to identify available funding to assist local school districts in providing summer services to assist students with disabilities to successfully transition to the local community and support their reintegration into the local school district. As soon as a decision has been made regarding funding support, the Agency will notify local school districts, and will continue to work with the twenty regional education service centers (ESC) to ensure local school districts have the most current information available in order to support these students.

The agency is working with TYC and the Governor’s Office to provide school districts with as much notice as possible as school-age individuals are released from TYC. School districts will be receiving the maximum amount of information about individuals released to their district allowed by law, including the offenses that resulted in commitment, whether or not the individual is a registered sex offender, any court proceedings subsequent to commitment and any pending criminal matters5. TYC will provide the district an academic achievement record for each student. Please be aware that under TEC Section 30.104, a school district or charter school is required to accept credits earned in TYC schools.

School districts are authorized by Article 15.27 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure and Section 37.006(o) to share information about the criminal background of students with educators who have responsibility for instruction of the student, but must otherwise keep criminal history information confidential. We encourage you to ensure that your staff with instructional responsibilities have the appropriate knowledge to maintain a safe environment.

More information will be provided to the students and their families regarding services available from other state agencies, including, but not limited to, the Texas Workforce Commission and the Health and Human Services Commission.

Sincerely,

Shirley J. Neeley, Ed.D. Commissioner of Education

5 http://austin.tyc.state.tx.us/CfInternet/gap/81/gap8136.htm