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Micro-Purchase Threshold Self-Certification for 2026-27 Due Oct. 1 (Optional)
GRANTS MANAGEMENT
7/13/2026
Collecting quotes for federal grant purchases is time consuming. If your school system wants more flexibility in purchasing, you may be interested in increasing your micro-purchase threshold. However, there are important requirements to meet before doing so.
You might have previously raised your micro-purchase threshold under EDGAR provisions that began in 2021. But remember that action is needed annually to maintain it.
Effective October 1, 2025 there were updates to the micro-purchase thresholds which were shared in a TAA letter Federal Grant Threshold Changes | Texas Education Agency. The new default micro-purchase threshold is $15,000. If you have not done so already, you will need to update your Federal Grants manual to reflect this new threshold for the 2026-2027 school year. The Self-Certification threshold has been increased to $99,999. If you wish to take advantage of the Self-Certification options for the 2026-2027 school year, please read on to see the requirements for completing the self-certification option.
The inSchools team provides our schools with both financial and federal grant services to ensure EDGAR purchasing procedures are followed. Make sure your purchasing procedures can pass inspection by joining the inSchools family of client schools!
Why would I want to self-certify a higher micro-purchase threshold?
The Education Department General Regulations (EDGAR) defines levels of procurement for federal grant purchases.
Micro-purchase (informal methods) – items that you buy in small quantities and are relatively inexpensive
Simplified Acquisitions (informal methods) – items that you buy often or in greater quantities and aren’t so expensive as to require board approval or competitive bidding (requires collecting multiple quotes)
Competitive bidding (formal methods) – sealed bids or requests for proposals that are high-cost items reaching the limit where Board approval is required
Sole source (noncompetitive proposal) – rare purchases that only one vendor provides the service and must be approved by TEA.
The default micro-purchase limit is $15,000 in aggregate across “like-type” items before “simplified acquisition” procedures kick in. Once the simplified acquisitions limit is reached, then multiple documented quotes are required for each purchase. In short, a local decision to raise the micro-purchase limit to a max of $99,999 would result in less collection of quotes.
What are the issues to consider?
Obtaining multiple quotes for each purchase results in finding the lowest price. Quotes can save you money in the long run.
The threshold must be tracked regularly to see when the limit is reached. This is normally accomplished by putting commodity codes on each PO. Auditors ask for commodity codes and check that the threshold limits are being monitored. Granted, this still must be done even if the threshold is kept at $15,000 (unless your practice is just to gather multiple documented quotes on all purchases).
The self-certification must be done annually in the Smartsheets app. Using a default of $15,000 requires no extra work on your part.
If you change the procurement limits, you will need to gather required documentation and your federal APM manual will need to be updated.
We want to do this. How do I go about self-certifying the higher level?
First, make sure your school system is eligible. The School System is eligible to self-certify a micro-purchase threshold between $15,001 and $99,999 if the LEA:
is a low-risk auditee for their most recent federal audit; or
conducts an annual internal risk assessment to identify, mitigate, and manage financial risk (and you have written documentation to verify this).
Note: The annual risk assessment conducted by TEA’s Federal Fiscal Monitoring Division cannot be used to meet this requirement.
If the School System chooses to self-certify a higher micro-purchase threshold, it must complete the following documentation and notify TEA annually by submitting the online form.
Current self-certification of an increased micro-purchase threshold, including a justification and clear identification of the new threshold, documented in local Board approved policy;
Written procurement policies updated to reflect the increased micro-purchase threshold in your federal APM manual; and
Proof of eligibility, documented annually, of:
Low risk level from the LEA’s most recent federal audit, OR
Annual internal risk assessment conducted by the LEA to identify, mitigate and manage financial risks.
Since most charter districts don’t receive enough federal funding to have a federal audit, doing an annual internal risk assessment is the most common option. TEA has expectations about what this internal review would look like, and having written documentation to prove you did it is essential. The inSchools team has templates available to our paid partner schools. It is similar to a self-audit or mock audit, and you might decide quoting is easier for you.
Where do I submit and what is the deadline?
Self-certification requests are submitted through the EDGAR Connect Smartsheet Workapp. If you do not already have access to the Workapp system, the School Systems’ Superintendent listed in AskTED has access and can add additional users.
School Systems that opt to self-certify a micro-purchase threshold of $15,001 to $49,999 will just continue to annually notify TEA through the Micro-Purchase Self Certification form in the EDGAR Connect and maintain all required documentation on file for auditors.
School Systems that opt to self-certify a micro-purchase threshold of $50,000 to $99,999 will be expected to upload all required documentation described above along with the notification form through EDGAR Connect. The increased threshold does not take effect until approval is received from TEA.
If your School System elects to submit a self-certification to increase the micro-purchase limit, the deadline is October 1, 2026 to make it retroactive for the entire 2026-27 budget year back to July 1. If you fail to submit by October 1, it will not be retroactive, and you will have to use the $15,000 limit up to your submission date and/or approval date. The inSchools team recommends completing the form in Smartsheets at the start of your new budget year and NOT waiting until October.
Note: The form in Smartsheets EDGAR Connect workapp MUST be submitted annually if you are using any threshold higher than the $15,000 default! Any change in procurement processes will require an update to your Federal Grants Manual!
