Texas policies that encourage districts to create second chance high schools

Several policies had to come together to encourage districts to create second chance high schools. Here are some that we think are important.

Texas school districts generally must admit students who are at least 5 but less than 21 on September 1 of any school year. Many young adults who decide to return to finish high school are already 21, or are close enough to that age that they would not have enough time to finish before "aging out".

To give those students the opportunity to earn their diplomas, school districts and charters have the option to accept students who are under 26 years old on September 1 for the purpose of completing the requirements for a high school diploma.

Schools enrolling those older students can include them in their regular funding calculations without needing to apply to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for permission. They are eligible for all funding weights and special program funding.

Here are relevant laws from the Texas Education Code:

• A district may admit a person who is at least 21 years of age and under 26 years of age for the purpose of completing the requirements for a high school diploma. Section 25.001(b).
  
  
• A person who is at least 21 years of age and under 26 years of age and is admitted by a school district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma is entitled to the benefits of the available school fund for that year. Section 25.001(a).
  
  
• A person who is at least 21 years of age and under 26 years of age and is admitted by a school district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma is entitled to the benefits of the Foundation School Program for that year. Section 48.003(a)(1).
  
  
• A person who is 21 years of age or older and is admitted by a school district for the purpose of completing the requirements for a high school diploma may not be placed in a DAEP or JJAEP. Instead, the district must revoke the studen's admission. Section 25.001(b-1).
  
  
• A person who is 21 years of age or older who is admitted by a school district to complete the requirements for a high school diploma and who has not attended school in the three preceding school years may not be placed with a student who is 18 years of age or younger in a classroom setting, a cafeteria, or another district-sanctioned school activity. This does not prevent the student from attending a school-sponsored event that is open to the public. Section 25.001(b-2).

For many young adult students, night or weekend classes may be the only way they can attend. The Texas OFSD program lets districts construct schedules that make the most sense for their students, without needing to meet requirements for the number of class hours in a day or the number of days in the year.

OFSD is not limited to older students, and hundreds of Texas campuses currently use this program.

TEA requires an application before starting this program so they can make sure that the district has the attendance accounting procedures in place to count student attendance by hour rather than just by day.

• You can find information about the Optional Flexible School Day program, including the current application to participate, on TEA's OFSD web page.
  
  
• The statute governing the Optional Flexible School Day program is in Section 29.0822 of the Texas Education Code.

It is vitally important to these programs that state and federal accountability measures don't penalize districts for giving students a second chance.

For example, the Texas accountability system includes measures of dropout and completion rates. To encourage districts to accept students who have previously dropped out, a provision was added specifying that a student cannot be counted as a dropout more than once, even if they re-enroll and drop out again. This exemption is at Section 39.053(g-1)(2) of the Texas Education Code.

Similarly, when TEA adopted new rules adding a "growth" measure to the school rating system, no provision was initially made for returning students who had been out for a while. As a result, campuses enrolling such students were inadvertendly penalized in their ratings, and some districts closed their programs at least in part to avoid being downgraded. TEA has since fixed that issue.

This program is designed to authorize public charter schools to serve persons ages 18 through 50 who have never gradudated from high school. These schools must be designed to offer a high school program that can lead to a diploma and career and technology education courses that can lead to an industry certification.

These schools were originally proposed by Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, which started the first of these schools in Texas under a pilot program authorized by the Texas Legislature. The pilot was converted into a permanent statewide program in 2021. Goodwill continues to operate these Goodwill Excel Centers at two locations in Austin, plus at additional locations within prison units in the region.

This program requires the establishment of the charter school through an application process, unlike the young adult program discussed above which a district can start without needing state approval. For this older adult program, the Commissioner of Education may authorize no more than ten charters, each of which can operate multiple campuses. As of September, 2024, three charters have been authorized.

You can find general information about this program on the charter school applicants page on the TEA web site. Scroll down to the heading "Subchapter G: Adult Education Charters".

Specific requirements for this program are in Chapter 12, Subchapter G of the Texas Education Code.



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