(a) Applicant eligibility. Any school district or open-enrollment charter school may apply for authorization to operate a High School Equivalency Program (HSEP).(b) Cooperative HSEP criteria. A cooperative of school districts or open-enrollment charter schools may apply for permission to operate a cooperative HSEP if it operates pursuant to a written agreement. The fiscal agent of a cooperative HSEP is responsible for complying with all requirements of this subchapter.(c) Application process.(1) As part of the application process, the commissioner of education will require a school district or open-enrollment charter school to provide information regarding the operation of any similar program during the preceding five years.(2) Reported historical information disaggregated by ethnicity, age, gender, and socioeconomic status will include, but not be limited to:(A) the total number of students served in the program;(B) the number of program participants who passed the high school equivalency examination; and(C) when available, information on students' subsequent attendance in postsecondary educational programs.(3) The Texas Education Agency (TEA) will make available to eligible school districts and open-enrollment charter schools an application form that must be completed and submitted to the TEA for approval.