Today, the Texas Education Agency announced that the original 12-week period covered by the funding hold harmless for schools will be extended to include districts' first 18 weeks of instruction (the first semester of the 2020-21 school year). The TEA press release went on to say "TEA will address whether further funding adjustments for the second semester are needed based upon information and data gathered between now and January 2021."

While the hold harmless does not cover all of the funding districts stand to lose from reduced enrollment (not to mention the increased costs of the pandemic), this extension will provide some additional certainty during these uncertain times. The policy change announced today provide districts with six additional weeks before enrollment decline threatens to reduce school funding further, and the Texas Legislature will begin to meet and assess these circumstances further beginning in January 2021.

To read the information released by TEA on this topic (so far), please see TEA Updates Pandemic School Funding Formula.

You can also view your district's amount here: 2020-2021 School Year ADA Hold Harmless 

We will provide more information as it becomes available.

Also, please mark your calendar for the next Texas School Coalition membership meeting on Wednesday, November 11 at 1:30 p.m. We will be providing post-election analysis as well as making some plans for 2021. You can click on the link below to register.