SCHOOL LEAVER PROCEDURES
CFC-R (LOCAL)

RESPONSIBILITIES	The principal of each campus is charged with the responsibility for assuring that accurate Leaver data is reported to the PEIMS coordinator for the PEIMS fall submission.
DESIGNATED STAFF	The principal shall at the beginning of each year, designate the staff member who will be responsible for tracking leavers and leaver documentation. In the event that a staff member is not available an alternate staff member will be designated. The designated staff members will act as the authorized representative(s) of the superintendent for the purpose of signing withdrawal forms and other leaver documentation. Those individual assigned the responsibility of overseeing the leaver process must thoroughly familiarize themselves with the PEIMS Data Standards as they relate to the leaver documentation process. Administrators assigned this responsibility must assure not only their own proficiency in this process, but should also assist and monitor all individuals involved in the process.
WITHDRAWAL PROCEDURES	The following procedure will be used by every campus to record leavers: Students who withdraw during the school year. Completion of an exit review with the student’s parents/guardians, or the adult student conducted by an authorized staff member. During the interview all pertinent information as it relates to any new educational setting and contact information should be obtained and recorded on the Local Leaver Tracking Form. Completion of the state Withdrawal Form recording the reason for the student's leaving and as much future contact information as possible. The Withdrawal Form must be signed by the parent/guardian, adult student or school personnel designated as authorized to do so at the time of the withdrawal. Documentation on the withdrawal must be complete, signed in ink and dated. Every campus will use the standard withdrawal form. i. Correct assignment of leaver codes is critical. Any ambiguity in     coding questions should be referred to the Principal. ii. If the Principal is unable to resolve the coding issue the question will     be referred to the Student Services Department or the PEIMS     coordinator for resolution. Designated personnel should begin written and oral inquiry to confirm a leaver's enrollment in another educational setting should acceptable documentation not be received within 10 days following the departure of a student who stated intent was to enroll in another district. Students who do not withdraw, but quit attending school Withdraw the student in accordance with District policy. Complete the Leaver Tracking Form and a state Withdrawal Form in the same manner as step 1 (b) above. Make every effort to determine the whereabouts of the student. Designated personnel should begin written and oral inquiry to confirm a leaver’s enrollment in another educational setting. If the student’s whereabouts cannot be ascertained, this student will be recorded as a dropout. A list of potential dropouts must be provided by MIS to the PEIMS Coordinator on a six week basis. All graduates including those who graduate early during the school year and summer graduates These students graduation status must be documented on their AAR record. The cumulative record must have a graduation seal, the graduation type plan, TAAS or TAKS results, and sufficient credits. Designated personnel must review the additional PEIMS fields for these leavers (special education indicator, economic disadvantaged, graduation date and college entry.) Students who fail to return at the beginning of the next school year. "No Show" students must be made inactive in the student attendance accounting system no later than September 1 of the school year and certified by the principal. The District shall provide a final "No Show" list prior to September 1. This list must be signed by the principal and filed on campus. Designated personnel should make every attempt to locate these students and assign an appropriate leaver code. A leaver tracking form will be used to document the location of the student. (Sample attached.)
CAMPUS DATA ENTRY	Designated personnel are responsible for assuring that PEIMS leaver codes are transmitted to the data entry staff. This information should be provided in a timely manner so that periodic reports may be generated. Data entry personnel must be trained in entering, changing and deleting data from the student software. All entries, changes and deletions require supporting documentation. Any changes made to original documentation must be initialed and dated by the person making the change and kept on file for five years. Coding decisions are made by authorized campus personnel. After the state snapshot date, the campuses will notify the PEIMS coordinator in writing of any coding changes.
MONITORING LEAVERS	The District will, on a six weeks basis during the school year, print a withdrawn student’s report and distribute the report to each campus. The campuses will conduct an audit of leaver documentation. The administrator managing the leaver process will conduct regular internal audits of the documentation process. Monitoring a student leaver to the point of acceptable documentation should involve all personnel assigned this responsibility and may involve home visits by personnel responsible for such activities. The District will generate a final leaver report that contains all leavers from the current school year. This will be an alpha report containing the following information: Social Security number, student’s full name, leaver reason, dropout indicator, date of graduation and graduation type, economic disadvantaged code, special education indicator, sex and ethnicity. The District will generate a final "no show" list no later than September 1 of the current school year containing the same information as shown above and distribute the list to the campus. Each campus shall ensure that each name on this list has a Leaver Tracking Form on file. All data will be reviewed to assure that crosswalks from withdrawal reason codes to PEIMS leaver codes have been accurately converted. Each campus must maintain a list of current crosswalks that are in use.
REVIEW OF PEIMS EDITS	Designated central office personnel will review all PEIMS errors concerning the 203 record. If the errors cannot be corrected, the personnel will annotate the reason. These remarks will be maintained for audit purposes. Designated central office personnel will review the list of under and over-reported leavers generated in the PEIMS system. In each instance where the data cannot be corrected, the designated personnel will annotate the reason. These remarks will be maintained for audit purposes. Designated central office personnel will review and correct all PID errors. PID errors that require manual intervention by TEA will be processed no later than the Region 4 due date.
TIMELINE	All errors will be corrected no later than the campus deadline for validating data. The District will provide each campus a flowchart for processing PEIMS data. This timeline must meet the due dates established by Central Office.
FLOWCHART FOR PROCESSING DATA	Each campus will establish a flowchart for processing PEIMS data that clearly defines campus staff responsibilities.
FERPA	In accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act 34 CFR § 99.35, federal, state, and local educational authorities may access education records as part of an audit or evaluation of a state or federally supported education program or for enforcement of or compliance with the legal requirements of these programs. Thus, this provision applies to the auditors as authorized representatives of the state and local educational authorities. Auditors will maintain confidentiality of the records.
STORAGE OF RECORDS	Records must be stored in a manner that assures they will be readily accessible in order to meet audit requirements. Campus staff will use the documentation standards as outlined in the Attendance Accounting Handbook and in the PEIMS Data Standards. PEIMS records must be retained and subsequently destroyed in accordance with state requirements. PEIMS records must be maintained for five years.
COMPUTER SYSTEM SAFEGUARDS	All users connected to the student management software must have unique passwords and separate access to the database. Nightly backups of the data will be stored in a secure location. End of year backups as well as programs used to generate the data will be stored in the event that the reports have to be generated for audit purposes.