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Summer School Program Reimbursements for Emergent Bilingual K–1 Students

The purpose of this correspondence is to provide all school systems with guidance on the required bilingual/ESL summer school program to extend opportunities for emergent bilingual (EB) students to develop academic language skills in English and, if applicable, in their home language, and to strengthen content knowledge and skills.

Overview 

The required bilingual education summer school program must be offered by all school systems that are required to provide a bilingual or English as a second language (ESL) program to serve identified EB students during the 2025-26 school year, including those with approved bilingual exceptions and/or ESL waivers. The program is offered to incoming Kindergarten and incoming Grade 1 EB students who have parental consent to participate in a bilingual or ESL program during the current school year. 

Eligibility for Participation and Submission Requirements 

• Funding (and subsequent reimbursements) have been appropriated and will be processed in the Fall of 2026 through the Grants Administration Division. For more information, please visit the Emergent Bilingual Student Summer School Guidance, which includes guidance for both bilingual and ESL programs.
• Reimbursement amounts will be based on teaching units with 18 students or a fraction thereof constituting one unit. Since the appropriation for this program is a fixed amount, it will be necessary to prorate unit allotments if enrollment exceeds projections.
• Based on 2026 program costs, it is suggested that the school system plan for reimbursements of approximately $1,300 per unit. Business managers should be informed that the fund code is 289 and that payments to the school system will be made via direct deposit.
• In accordance with 19 TAC §89.1250(3)(B), school systems operating a two-semester system are required to offer the program for one-half day for eight weeks while school is recessed for the summer or for a total of 120 hours of instruction on a schedule established by the board of trustees or governing board. 
  School systems operating year-round schools are required to offer a program during one or multiple intercessions for a total of 120 hours of instruction.
• For students who have not attended school previously and may be identified as emergent bilingual students, the requirements of 19 TAC §89.1225 regarding testing and student classification must be followed.
• Please note that data will be collected through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) for summer school in 2026. This indicator code is collected only in Submission 4, and the due date to ÁñÁ«ÊÓÆÁ is August 28, 2026.

Additional Information 

• The 120 hours of required summer school instruction consist solely of direct, planned instructional time and do not include lunch, recess, transition time, arrival/dismissal, enrichment breaks, or non-instructional activities, in accordance with 19 TAC §89.1250.
• The summer school program is implemented by appropriately certified teachers in accordance with 19 TAC §89.1201.
  • A bilingual certified teacher assigned to a bilingual program
  • An ESL certified teacher assigned to an ESL program

Questions and Contact Information 

Please reach out to EmergentBilingualSupport@tea.texas.gov with any questions regarding the bilingual summer school program requirements.