Does the function-code board-amendment rule apply to ESC budgets as well?
Short answer
Yes. The same fund-and-function rule applies to an ESC budget.
FASRG Module 1 applies to every LEA it lists, including a regional education service center, and says: "The term "school district" or "district" is used throughout the module to refer to any of these LEAs." (FASRG v20 Module 1, Notes on Using This Module, p. 9)
The detail
That means the adoption rule is identical. FASRG: "Your district's adopted budget must be itemized in detail according to the classification and purpose of expenditure, at least at the fund and function level" (FASRG v20 Module 1, §1.1.3 Budget Requirements, p. 15). So moving appropriations between functions in a legally adopted fund requires a board amendment, while moving money between accounts in the same function does not change the function total and does not trigger that requirement.
Where the authority differs is which statute requires the board to adopt it:
- School district board: adopts/amends under TEC §44.006
- ESC board of directors: adopts its annual budget under TEC §8.003(f): "Each regional education service center board of directors shall adopt an annual budget..." (TEC §8.003)
So §44.006 is not the ESC's adoption authority.
In ASCENDER: how to flag it:
- Finance > Budget Amendment > Budget Amendment Maintenance: create the amendment.
- Select Board Approval Required to prevent the amendment from automatically posting to Finance when approved by final approval (ASCENDER: Finance > Budgetamendment > Approve Budget Amendment - FIN8025).
- When Board Approval Required is selected, you must manually post the transaction on Finance > Budget Amendment > Post to General Ledger (ASCENDER: Finance > Budgetamendment > Budget Amendment Maintenance - FIN8000). The field only appears when Allow for Approval Process is selected on Tables > District Finance Options.
You can then filter reports by that flag: Y = only board-approval amendments, N = only non-board, B = both (ASCENDER: Finance > Reports > Budgetamendmentreports > FIN5050 - Posted Budget Amendment Report).
Where this comes from
- FASRG Update 20, Module 1: Financial Accounting and Reporting. Open the PDF
- Notes on Using This Module, the LEAs the term "district" covers (page 9)
- 1.1.3 Budget Requirements, fund and function level (page 15)
- Texas Education Code §8.003, regional education service center board of directors, subsection (f). Read the statute
- ASCENDER Business help, Budget Amendment pages:
Related questions
Current as of: FASRG Update 20 (TEA document dated July 2026); Texas Education Code §8.003; ASCENDER Business help. Checked 21 October 2026.
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