TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part II
Subchapter D. Special Education Services and
Settings
Statutory Authority: The provisions of this Subchapter D
issued under Texas Education Code, §§30.003(d) and (g),
30.004(b), 30.057(a)(2)(B), and 42.151(e) and (g), unless
otherwise noted.
(a) School districts may contract for residential placement only
with facilities which are approved by the commissioner of
education.
(1) Facilities for students contracted on a residential
basis include public and private facilities which have
licensure by the Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation, Texas Department of Human Services,
Texas Department of Health, Texas Department of
Protective and Regulatory Services, and Texas Council
on Alcohol and Drug Abuse.
(2) School districts which intend to contract with
facilities under this section shall notify the Texas
Education Agency, through an application process, of
their intent to contract for residential placements.
(3) With the approval of the Texas Education Agency, the
district may contract with the facility for the
services listed in the contracted student's individual
educational plan (IEP).
(4) The commissioner of education shall renew approvals and
issue new approvals only for those facilities which
have contract students already placed or which have a
request for residential placement from a school
district. This approval does not apply to facilities
that only provide related services or facilities in
which the local school district where the facility is
located operates the educational program.
(b) If a residential facility which is not approved by the
commissioner of education gets a request for placement from
a local school district, the Texas Education Agency shall
begin approval procedures and make an on-site visit to the
facility within 30 calendar days after the Texas Education
Agency has been notified by the local school district or
shared service arrangement unit of the request for
placement. Approval of residential facilities may be for
one, two, or three years.
(c) The school district shall have the following
responsibilities when making a residential placement.
(1) Before a district places a student with a disability
in, or refers a student to, a facility, the district
shall initiate and conduct a meeting to develop an IEP
for the student in accordance with 34 CFR, §§300.342-
300.349, state statute, and commissioner of education
rule.
(2) For each student, those services which the district is
unable to provide and which the facility is able to
provide shall be listed in the student's IEP.
(3) The school district shall make an annual on-site visit
to verify that the facility can and will offer the
services listed in the individual student's IEP and to
ensure that the facility offers an appropriate
educational program for the student.
(4) The placement of more than one student may be
considered in the same on-site visit; however, the IEP
of each student must be reviewed and a determination of
appropriateness of placement and service must be made
for each student.
(5) The appropriateness of the facility for each student
being contracted shall be documented in the IEP.
General approval of a residential facility by the Texas
Education Agency or general screening by a regional
education service center is not sufficient to meet the
requirements of this subsection.
(6) For each student, the admission, review, and dismissal
(ARD) committee shall establish in writing criteria and
estimated time lines for returning the student to the
school district.
(7) For all contract students, in the annual ARD review,
the school district shall verify:
(A) that the facility continues to meet minimum
standards for health and safety;
(B) that continued contracting is needed and that the
need is documented in the IEP; and
(C) that the facility continues to offer an
appropriate program for the student.
(d) Residential contracts shall be negotiated on an individual
student basis.
(1) Requests for approval of state and federal funding for
residentially placed students shall be on an individual
student basis through an application form submitted to
the Texas Education Agency.
(A) A residential application must be for educational
purposes only.
(B) A residential application shall not be approved if
the application indicates:
(i) the placement is primarily due to the
student's medical problems;
(ii) the placement is primarily due to problems
in the student's home;
(iii) the district does not have a plan with
time lines and criteria for returning the
student to the local school program;
(iv) the district did not attempt to implement
less restrictive placements prior to
residential placement (except in emergency
situations as documented by the student's
ARD committee);
(v) the placement is not cost effective when
compared with other alternatives; and/or
(vi) the placement provides the delivery of
unapproved services.
(2) The residential placement, if approved by the Texas
Education Agency, shall be funded as follows.
(A) The education cost of residential contracts shall
be funded with state funds on the same basis as
nonpublic day school contract costs according to
the Texas Education Code, §42.151.
(B) Related services and residential costs for
residential contract students shall be funded from
a combination of funding sources. After expending
other available funds, the district must use its
local tax share per average daily attendance and
25% of its Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, Part B, (IDEA-B) formula funds (or the
equivalent of appropriate other state or local
funds) for payment of related services and
residential costs. If this amount is not
sufficient, the district may apply for the
necessary amount of IDEA-B discretionary funds to
pay for the balance of its residential contract
placements.
(C) Funds generated by the formula for residential
costs described in subparagraph (B) of this
paragraph may not exceed the daily rate
recommended by the Texas Health and Human Services
Commission for the types of services for which the
student is placed.
(e) School districts which contract for out-of-state residential
placement shall do so in accordance with the rules for in-
state residential placement in this section, except that the
facility must be approved by the appropriate agency in the
state in which the facility is located, rather than by the
commissioner of education in Texas.
(f) When a student who is on a residential contract in one
school district of residence moves to another Texas school
district, and the student is to continue in the contract
placement, the school district which negotiated the contract
shall be responsible for the residential contract for the
remainder of the school year.
Source: The provisions of this §89.61 adopted to be
effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 5690.
(a) For each student enrolled in the Texas School for the Blind
and Visually Impaired or Texas School for the Deaf, the
school district responsible for providing appropriate
special education and related services to the student shall
share the cost of the student's education (excluding the
summer programs) as provided under the Texas Education Code,
§30.003.
(1) The information required in accordance with the Texas
Education Code, §30.003(d), must be submitted in a form
prescribed by the commissioner of education within 30
calendar days after the student enrolls in the Texas
School for the Blind and Visually Impaired or Texas
School for the Deaf.
(2) School districts required to remit their shares to the
Texas Education Agency in accordance with the Texas
Education Code, §30.003(d), shall do so within 60 days
of notification by the commissioner of education.
(b) School districts shall provide, annually, in writing to each
parent or legal guardian of an eligible student with visual
or auditory impairments, the information specified in the
Texas Education Code, §30.004(a)(1-3), before considering
the student's placement for special education services.
Source: The provisions of this §89.62 adopted to be
effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 5690.
(a) Each local school district shall be able to provide services
with special education personnel on the following bases to
students with disabilities in order to meet the special
needs of those students in accordance with 34 CFR, §300.551:
itinerant, helping teacher, resource, partially self-
contained, and self-contained.
(b) For the purpose of determining the student's instructional
arrangement/setting, the regular school day is defined as
the period of time determined appropriate by the admission,
review, and dismissal (ARD) committee for a student whose
individual educational plan (IEP) specifies a shortened day.
(c) Instructional arrangements/settings shall be based on the
individual needs and IEPs of eligible students receiving
special education services and shall include the following.
(1) Mainstream. This instructional arrangement/setting is
for providing special education instruction and related
services according to IEPs to students whose
instruction and related services are provided in
regular education with special education support. This
support is for teachers and students; examples include
direct instruction, helping teacher, team teaching, co-
teaching, interpreter, education aides, curricular or
instructional modifications/accommodations, special
materials/equipment, consultation, staff development,
monitoring a student's progress in regular education
classes, reduction of ratio of students to
instructional staff, or other direct or indirect
services needed to implement the IEPs of students
receiving special education services in this
instructional arrangement. This support shall be
designed to enrich education in order to enable success
of all students.
(2) Homebound. This instructional arrangement/setting is
for providing special education instruction to students
who are served at home or hospital bedside. Students
served on a homebound or hospital bedside basis are
expected to be confined for a minimum of four
consecutive weeks as documented by a physician licensed
to practice in the United States. Homebound or hospital
bedside instruction may, as provided by local district
policy, also be provided to chronically ill students
who are expected to be confined for any period of time
totaling at least four weeks throughout the school year
as documented by a physician licensed to practice in
the United States. Home instruction may be provided as
an option for students with disabilities as a result of
disciplinary action pursuant to the Texas Education
Code, Chapter 37, Subchapter A (relating to Alternative
Settings for Behavior Management). Home instruction may
also be used for services to infants and toddlers when
determined appropriate by the individualized family
services plan (IFSP) committee. This
arrangement/setting also applies to students who
receive services from a school district that provides
education solely to students confined to or educated in
hospitals.
(3) Hospital class. This instructional arrangement/setting
is for providing special education instruction in a
classroom in a hospital facility or a residential care
and treatment facility not operated by the school
district. If the students residing in the facility are
provided special education services outside the
facility, they are considered to be served in the
instructional arrangement in which they are placed and
are not to be considered as in a hospital class.
(4) Speech therapy. This instructional arrangement/setting
is for providing speech therapy services. Students who
are provided speech therapy services only are not
eligible to be counted for any other instructional
arrangement.
(5) Resource room/services. This instructional
arrangement/setting is for providing special education
instruction and related services in a setting other
than regular education for less than 50% of the regular
school day.
(6) Self-contained, mild and moderate, regular campus. This
instructional arrangement/setting is for providing
special education instruction and related services to
students with mild or moderate disabilities who are in
a self-contained program for 50% or more of the regular
school day on a regular school campus.
(7) Self-contained, severe, regular campus. This
instructional arrangement/setting is for providing
special education instruction and related services to
students with severe disabilities who are in a self-
contained program for most of the regular school day on
a regular school campus. Students may attend no more
than two regular education classes (such as music,
physical education, or art).
(8) Off home campus. This instructional arrangement/setting
is for providing special education instruction and
related services to students from more than one school
district served in a single location when special
education instruction and related services are not
otherwise available in the respective sending district,
to students whose instruction is provided in a facility
not operated by a school district, or to students in a
self-contained program at a separate campus operated by
the school district that provides only special
education instruction. This instructional
arrangement/setting also applies to students at South
Texas Independent School District and Windham
Independent School District.
(9) Nonpublic day school. This instructional
arrangement/setting is for providing special education
instruction to students through a contractual agreement
with a nonpublic school for special education.
(10) Vocational adjustment class/program. This instructional
arrangement/setting is for providing special education,
academic, or job-related instruction to students who
are placed on a job with regularly scheduled
supervision by special education teachers.
(11) Residential care and treatment facility (not school
district resident). This instructional
arrangement/setting is for providing special education
instruction and related services to students who reside
in care and treatment facilities and whose parents do
not reside within the boundaries of the school district
providing educational services to the students. In
order to be considered in this arrangement, the
services must be provided on a school district campus.
If the instruction is provided at the facility, rather
than on a school district campus, the instructional
arrangement is considered to be the hospital class
arrangement/setting rather than this instructional
arrangement. Students with disabilities who reside in
these facilities may be included in the average daily
attendance of the district in the same way as all other
students receiving special education.
(12) State school for persons with mental retardation. This
instructional arrangement/setting is for providing
special education instruction to students who reside at
a state school. The services are provided at a state
school or on a school district campus.
(d) The appropriate instructional arrangement for students from
birth through the age of two with visual and/or auditory
impairments shall be determined in accordance with the
individualized family service plan (IFSP), current
attendance guidelines, and the agreement memorandum between
the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Interagency Council
on Early Childhood Intervention.
(e) For nonpublic day school placements, the school district or
shared service arrangement unit shall submit information to
the Texas Education Agency indicating the students'
identification numbers, initial dates of placement, and the
names of the facilities with which the school district or
shared service arrangement unit is contracting. The school
district or shared service arrangement unit shall not count
contract students' average daily attendance as eligible. The
Texas Education Agency shall determine the number of
contract students reported in full-time equivalents and pay
state funds to the district according to the formula
prescribed in law.
(f) Other program options which may be considered for the
delivery of special education services to eligible students
may include the following:
(1) contracts with other school districts; and
(2) other program options as approved by the Texas
Education Agency.
Source: The provisions of this §89.63 adopted to be
effective September 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 5690.