Enroll in Hays CISD's FREE Family Education Webinar Series

This academic year, the Federal Programs Office, Counseling Department, and Multilingual Department have collaborated to present a series of family engagement webinars facilitated by Daybreak Health. These webinars will address pertinent topics for our students and their families, such as depression, substance use, anxiety, and trauma.

These sessions are free of charge and will be broadcast simultaneously in both English and Spanish. You'll have the opportunity to pose questions and access additional resources from Daybreak Health and Hays CISD staff. For more details or assistance with registration, reach out to Stephanie Norris, Director of Federal Programs, at 512-268-2141.

Click here for general session and registration information.

Click here for info on the Youth Anxiety Workshop 02-21-24 (presentation linked below)

Click here for info on the Communication with your Child Workshop 03-27-24 (presentation linked below)

Use the links below to access the information presented in the previous workshops.

Communication With Your Child Workshop 03-27-24

• Communication With Your Child | Free Family Webinar with Hays CISD + Daybreak Health
  passcode: EV?J9WEM
• Link to workshop slideshow presentation (pdf)

Understanding & Supporting Youth Anxiety Workshop 02-21-24

• Anxiety: Understanding & Supporting Youth Anxiety | Free Family Webinar with Hays CISD & Daybreak Health 
  passcode = Z+7nVdzw
• Link to workshop slideshow presentation (pdf)

Guiding your Child through Depression Workshop 11-29-23

• Link to Zoom presentation  passcode = gaZ7*UMd
• Link to workshop slideshow presentation (pdf)

Teen Substance Use & Abuse Workshop 12-12-23

• Link to Zoom presentation  passcode = uv@j+4b9
• Link to workshop slideshow presentation (pdf)

Title I, Part A – Title I, Part A provides supplemental resources to local educational agencies (LEAs) to help schools with high concentrations of students from low-income families provide high-quality education that will enable all children to meet the challenging state academic standards. Campuses served with Title I funds within Hays CISD, have at least 40% of their students identified as receiving free/reduced lunch. Hays CISD Title I Schoolwide campuses are served in rank order of low-income percentage, with a formula based, per pupil allocation.

The intended program beneficiaries are students who experience difficulties mastering the state academic achievement standards. Each Title I campus completes a comprehensive needs assessment each year. The CNA is then used to review and revise their campus improvement plan with input from parents, community members, teachers, principals and other school leaders, so that all students are provided opportunities to meet the challenging State academic standards.

Title I, Part C Education of Migratory Children – Title I, Part C provides supplemental instructional and support services for migrant students and out-of-school migrant youth. Hays CISD utilizes a shared service arrangement with the Education Service Center 13 to provide support migrant students.

Title II, Part A – Hays CISD utilizes Title II, Part A funds to increase student academic achievement through improving teacher and principal quality and increasing the number of highly qualified teachers in classrooms and qualified principals and assistant principals in the district; and, uphold high expectations to improve student academic achievement.  The intended beneficiaries of Title II funds are teachers and principals, including assistant principals, and as appropriate, administrators, pupil services personnel, and paraprofessionals. The district focuses the utilization of Federal funds on two activities: recruiting, hiring, developing, and retaining effective personnel that impact instruction and learning; and, providing professional development and coaching.

Title III, Part A (ELA and Immigrant Funds) – The purpose of these funds is to ensure that English learners (ELs) and immigrant students attain English proficiency and develop high levels of academic achievement in English, supporting all English learners in meeting the same challenging State academic standards that all children are expected to meet. Hays CISD utilizes Title III, Part A funds to provide supplemental resources to ensure that children who are English learners, including immigrant children and youth, attain English proficiency at high levels in academic subjects and can meet the same challenging State academic standards that all children are expected to meet.  Hays CISD focuses the use of these funds on providing supplemental instructional resources for English Language Learning, supplemental language learning support staff, and a Newcomer Parent and Family Engagement Specialist.

Title IV, Part A - The purpose and intent of the Title IV, Part A, is to increase the capacity of local educational agencies (LEAs), campuses, and communities to provide all students access to a well-rounded education, to improve academic outcomes by maintaining safe and healthy students, and to improve the use of technology to advance student academic achievement.  Hays CISD utilizes Title IV to fund the creation of 1.5 additional Mental Health Professional Staff positions (Safe and Healthy Students), to support professional development to increase the effective use of technology through the implementation of high-quality blended learning in classrooms across the district (Effective Use of Technology), and to support the participation of all students in well-rounded educational activities through supplemental Reading Instructional Materials and through payment of activity fees so that all student have the opportunity to participate in well-rounded learning opportunities (Well Rounded Education Opportunities).

Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act – Perkins V Grant – The intent and purpose of the CTE Perkins V grant program is to develop more fully the academic, technical, and employability skills of secondary education students who elect to enroll in CTE programs. Hays CISD utilizes Perkins funds to carry out programs that develop more fully the academic and technical skills of secondary students who elect to enroll in career and technical education (CTE) programs.  Hays CISD will use Perkins funds to supplement local funds for students who chose to participate in CTE Leadership and Competition Activities.   Career Clusters offered at Hays CISD include Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Architecture and Construction; Arts, A/V Technology, and Communication; Business, Management, and Administration; Education and Training; Finance; Health Services; Hospitality and Tourism; Human Services; Information Technology; Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security; Manufacturing; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; Transportation, Distribution and Logistics.

Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY)  - The purpose of the Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY) grant is to facilitate the identification, enrollment, attendance and academic success of homeless children and youth by removing barriers and promoting school stability for students experiencing homelessness. Hays CISD utilizes these TEHCY grant funds to support a part-time MKV Family Support Specialist position, to defray some of the excess costs related to providing out-of-district school of origin transportation costs, and to provide emergency supplies for students.  Students identified as homeless by the campus counselor have access to the MKV Family Support Specialist whose role it is to assist them with referrals to community agencies as well as to support them in obtaining school supplies, emergency clothing, access to free meals through the HCISD Child Nutrition Department, transportation to and from their campus of origin, and fee waivers.  The MKV Family Support Specialist works closely with the Clothes Closet and Hays Hope 2 Go to provide clothing and nutritional assistance to students.  Additional ARP I and II Homeless funds are being used to support a supplemental MKV Social Worker, supplemental MKV tutoring and instructional resources, and additional hours for the MKV Family Support Specialist to serve the growing needs of our MKV families.

IDEA-B & IDEA-B Preschool Formula Grant – The purpose of IDEA-B funds is to support special education and related services for children ages 3–21.  Hays CISD utilizes IDEA-B funds to provide a continuum of services and supports to students with disabilities who require special education services to meet their individualized needs.  These funds are used to support special education teachers, related service providers, and IEP support positions, to provide specialized professional development and coaching to special education staff, and to provide IEP-required instructional materials and evaluation assessment tools.  A portion of these funds is expended through Proportionate Share to provide special education services for students enrolled in Private Schools or who are homeschooled within the Hays CISD boundaries.

State Compensatory Education Funds – The goal of the State Compensatory Education (SCE) program is to provide funding to reduce disparity in performance on assessment instruments or disparity in the rates of high school completion between educationally disadvantaged students, at-risk students, and all other students. Hays CISD utilizes these funds to support students who qualify as at-risk in accordance with the Texas Education Code through the provision of accelerated and intensive programs of instruction (tutoring, small-group reading and math intervention, and credit recovery), access to services and supports at the Impact Campus and Live Oak Academy, the PEP program and CEHI services, Instructional Coaching to support teachers of core subjects, and for Outreach Counselors for the 3 comprehensive high schools.

Safety Formula Grant and related funds – Hays CISD is utilizing the safety grant funds it has received from the TEA to meet the updated safety standards.  These funds are being leveraged to purchase Silent Panic Alert Technology, to meet door numbering requirements, to upgrade fencing and gates, to purchase and install equipment to increase the function of emergency responder two-way radios in school buildings, and to purchase and install exterior master key lock boxes for all campuses.

ESSER I, II, and III - The intent and purpose of the CRRSA Act of 2021 and CARES Act funding was to prevent, prepare for, or respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of students.  Hays CISD has expended all of these funds as of the end of the end of the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year. 

• For more information about the ESSER III Use of Funds, please visit https://www.hayscisd.net/Page/13696
• For more information about the ESSER III Return to In-person Instruction and Instructional Continuity of Services (RIPICS) Plan, please visit https://www.hayscisd.net/covidplan

Public Comment: 
In accordance with federal regulations, a local education agency (LEA), or public school district, that plans to submit a federal grant application must offer a reasonable opportunity for public comment on the application before it is submitted to the Texas Education Agency for approval. 
 
Hays CISD gives public notice of the LEA’s intention to submit an application for the following federal grant programs for the 2024-2025 school year: ESSA (Title I, Title II, Title III, and Title IV), Perkins V: Strengthening Career & Technical Education for the 21st Century, Texas Education for Homeless Children and Youth (TEHCY), and IDEA-B Formula and Pre-School. Public comments will be considered during the planning process for the grants listed above for the 2024-2025 school year.
 
For more information on the grant programs and the allowable use of funds for each grant, please visit TEA’s Grant Opportunities Page at https://tea4avalonzo.tea.state.tx.us/GrantOpportunities/forms/GrantProgramSearch.aspx. 
 
If you have any feedback or questions regarding Hays CISD’s use of federal grant funds, please contact Stephanie Norris, Director of Federal Programs at stephanie.norris@hayscisd.net .

ATTENTION: Private Non-Profit Schools within the Hays CISD District Boundary (serving ages 5-17)

You may be eligible to participate in services through federal programs. Please contact your local school district regarding participation in the planning and receipt of services through federal programs. Contact Stephanie Norris, Director of Federal Programs, at Stephanie.Norris@hayscisd.net.  Please include documentation of Non-Profit status (ex: 501c3)

What constitutes private nonprofit status? Response: Under 34 CFR 77.1, the term “nonprofit” as applied to an agency, organization, or institution means it is owned and operated by one or more corporations or associations whose net earnings do not benefit, and cannot lawfully benefit, any private shareholder or entity.

What are private school equitable services? Response: Through ESSA, federal grant funding is made available every year to serve students who meet certain criteria, such as economically disadvantaged. Those grant funds are awarded to TEA, which administer the funds directly to LEAs, including school districts. However, the law requires that eligible students and teachers at eligible PNPs also receive access to equitable services of those programs and services provided by the district. The term “private school equitable services” refers to the process of providing students, teachers, staff, and families at eligible PNPs fair access to federally funded education programs and services, as appropriate. The process depends on a “timely and meaningful consultation” between ISD officials and those of eligible PNPs. However, federal funds may not be awarded or paid to the PNP.