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State & Federal Programs

At-Risk Eligibility Criteria

As Defined by the State of Texas 2015­2016, a student at risk of dropping out of school includes each student who is under 21 years of age and who:      

  • is in prekindergarten, kindergarten or grade 1, 2, or 3 and did not perform satisfactorily on a readiness test or assessment instrument administered during the current school year;
  • is in grade 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 and did not maintain an average equivalent to 70 on a scale of 100 in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester in the preceding or current school year or is not maintaining such an average in two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum in the current semester;
  • was not advanced from one grade level to the next for one or more school years;
  • did not perform satisfactorily on an assessment instrument administered to the student under SubchapterB, Chapter 39, and who has not in the previous or current school year subsequently performed on that instrument or another appropriate instrument at a level equal to at least 110 percent of the level of satisfactory performance on that instrument;
  • is pregnant or is a parent;
  • has been placed in an alternative education program in accordance with Section 37.006 during the preceding or current school year;
  • has been expelled in accordance with Section 37.007 during the preceding or current school year;
  • is currently on parole, probation, deferred prosecution, or other conditional release;
  • was previously reported through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) to have dropped out of school;
  • is a student of limited English proficiency, as defined by Section 29.052;
  • is in the custody or care of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or has, during the current school year, been referred to the department by a school official, officer of the juvenile court, or law enforcement official;
  • is homeless;
  • resided in the preceding school year or resides in the current school year in a residential placement facility in the district, including a detention facility, substance abuse treatment facility, emergency shelter, psychiatric hospital, halfway house;
  • has been incarcerated or has a parent or guardian who has been incarcerated, within the lifetime of the student, in a penal institution as defined by Section 10.07, Penal Code

Title I

Title I, is a federal program that  provides funding to local school districts to improve the academic achievement of disadvantaged students. "Disadvantaged" students are those who come from low-income families, are in foster homes, or are neglected or delinquent, or who live in families receiving temporary assistance from state governments.

Programs funded with Title I money must specifically serve students who are failing to meet academic standards or at risk of failing because they are disadvantaged. However, if more than 40% of the students in a school qualify as disadvantaged, the school is allowed to run "schoolwide" programs that serve all students, not just the disadvantaged.

Title I is part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) first passed in 1965. That Act is reauthorized by Congress from time to time, and often given a new name. In 2002 it was reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act and in 2015 it was reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 

State Compensatory Education

Under Section 29.081 of the Texas Education Code (TEC), compensatory education is defined in law as programs and/or services designed to supplement the regular education program for students identified as at risk of dropping out of school. The purpose is to increase academic achievement and reduce the dropout rate of these students.

  • The goal for SCE is to reduce the disparity in performance on (a) the state assessment and (b) rates of high school completion between students at-risk of dropping out of school and all other district students.  (TEC Section 29.081)
  • SCE funds must be used to provide support programs and/or services that supplement the regular education program so that students at risk of dropping out of school can succeed in school.

If a student fails a STAAR assessment, he/she will be coded as at-risk during the school year the assessment is failed and remain at-risk until he/she successfully completes a like/same assessment at 110% of the minimum passing score. If the student fails a STAAR assessment for a subject that is not tested in the subsequent school year, he/she will remain at risk for the one additional school year. For example, if a student fails his/her fourth grade writing assessment, he/she will be coded at-risk for the reminder of fourth grade plus his/her entire fifth grade year. 

Improvement Plans

All school districts and charter schools, whose state compensatory education allotment is $500,000 or more for the previous fiscal year, are required to submit a District Improvement Plan and Campus Improvement/Instructional Plans.