1. (a) Each school district and open-enrollment charter school shall develop systems to ease transition of a student who is homeless or in substitute care during the first two weeks of enrollment at a new school. These systems shall include the following:

   1. (1) welcome packets containing applicable information regarding enrollment in extracurricular activities, club activities, information on fee waivers, tutoring opportunities, the student code of conduct, and contact information for pertinent school staff such as counselors, nurses, social workers, the foster care liaison, the homeless liaison, the principal and any assistant principals, and related contacts;
   2. (2) introductions for new students that maintain student privacy and confidentiality to the school environment and school processes by school district or charter school faculty, campus-based student leaders, or ambassadors; and
   3. (3) mechanisms to ensure that a process is in place for all students who qualify to receive nutrition benefits upon enrollment, as all students who are homeless or in substitute care are eligible for United States Department of Agriculture Child Nutrition Programs. The process must expedite communication with the district or charter school nutrition coordinator to ensure that eligible students are not charged in error or experience delays in receiving these benefits.

2. (b) A school district or an open-enrollment charter school shall convene an enrollment conference with the student within the first two weeks of enrollment or within the first two weeks after the student is identified as homeless or in substitute care.

   1. (1) The convening of the enrollment conference shall not delay or impede the enrollment of the student.

   2. (2) The enrollment conference shall address the student's credit recovery, credit completion, attendance plans and trauma-informed interventions, interests and strengths, discipline or behavior concerns, previous successes, college readiness, and social and emotional supports as well as district policies relating to transfers and withdrawals and communication preferences with parents or guardians. The enrollment conference may be comprised of:

      1. (A) school administrators;
      2. (B) homeless or foster care liaisons;
      3. (C) a social worker;
      4. (D) teachers;
      5. (E) counselors;
      6. (F) dropout prevention specialists;
      7. (G) attendance/truancy officers;
      8. (H) the relative caregiver, foster placement caregiver, or case manager;
      9. (I) the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) designated educational decision-maker;
      10. (J) the DFPS caseworker, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteer, or other volunteer, as applicable; and
      11. (K) a parent and/or guardian, unless the caseworker indicates the parent's and/or guardian's rights to participate have been restricted by the court.
3. (c) Pertinent staff members (such as principals, registrars, counselors, designated liaisons, nutrition coordinators, transportation specialists, etc.) should be knowledgeable concerning communication, processes, and procedures for facilitating successful school transitions for students who are homeless or in substitute care.
4. (d) For each district or charter school, the Texas Records Exchange (TREx), the Personal Identification Database (PID), or the Person Enrollment Tracking (PET) application must be used to expedite coordination and communication between the sending and receiving schools.

Source Note:The provisions of this §89.1605 adopted to be effective March 30, 2020, 45 TexReg 2159.