SECTION 61.1017. Maintenance of Effort and Equity for Federal Money Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic

(a) General provisions. This section implements Texas Education Code (TEC), §48.281 (Maintenance of Effort and Equity for Federal Money Related to COVID-19 Pandemic), which provides for increases in funding to school districts and open-enrollment charter schools as necessary to ensure compliance with requirements regarding maintenance of equity under Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (Div. M, Pub. L. No. 116-260, reprinted in note, 20 U.S.C. Section 3401), Section 317; and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Pub. L. No. 117-2, reprinted in note, 20 U.S.C. Section 3401), Section 2001. In accordance with TEC, §48.281, this section defines the data sources that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) will use in calculating the amount of the funding.

(b) Definitions. The following terms have the following meanings when used in this section.

(1) Average daily attendance (ADA)--This term has the meaning defined by TEC, §48.005(a). For the 2020-2021 school year, ADA will include adjustments related to the ADA hold harmless provided for that school year but will exclude any reduction in ADA arising from the application of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding toward the ADA hold harmless.

(2) Foundation School Program (FSP)--The program established under TEC, Chapters 46, 48, and 49, or any successor program of state-appropriated funding for school districts in Texas.

(3) Maintenance and operations (M&O) revenue--The total M&O revenue available to a school district for maintenance and operations under the FSP, including state aid and M&O tax collections net of any required recapture payments. For the 2020-2021 school year, total M&O revenue will include adjustments resulting from the reduction in ADA arising from the application of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding toward the ADA hold harmless.

(4) Summary of Finances (SOF)--The SOF report summarizes the total M&O revenue available to a school district or open-enrollment charter school under the FSP.

(c) Data sources for calculating M&O revenue per ADA for the 2018-2019, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 school years.

(1) M&O revenue and ADA for the 2018-2019 school year will use final data from the district planning estimate (DPE) column of SOF Run Identification (Run ID) 34151, subject to the limitation in subsection (d) of this section.

(2) M&O revenue and ADA for the 2020-2021 school year will use final data from the DPE column of SOF Run ID 33729 and 33254, respectively, subject to the limitation in subsection (d) of this section.

(3) M&O revenue and ADA for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years will use the most current data for each column of the SOF report, subject to the limitation in subsection (d) of this section.

(4) For the 2022-2023 school year only, for purposes of calculating a school district or open-enrollment charter school's 2022-2023 allotment under paragraph (3) of this subsection, M&O revenue for the 2021-2022 school year will also include the allotment under paragraph (3) of this subsection.

(d) Limitations on calculations.

(1) For purposes of calculating an allotment under this section, the prior year M&O revenue and ADA for the 2018-2019 and 2020-2021 school years will not be changed from the SOF Run IDs identified in subsection (c)(1) and (2) of this section.

(2) TEA will stop running calculations for the 2021-2022 school year after June 30, 2023, and the amounts that a school district or open-enrollment charter school would have received for the 2021-2022 school year under TEC, §48.281(a), will not be changed after that date.

(3) TEA will stop running calculations for the 2022-2023 school year after June 30, 2024, and the amounts that a school district or open-enrollment charter school would have received for the 2022-2023 school year under TEC, §48.281(a), will not be changed after that date.

Source Note: The provisions of this §61.1017 adopted to be effective December 6, 2022, 47 TexReg 8040