Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The following terms, when used in this
section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
indicates otherwise.
(1) Instructional
arrangement/setting. Instructional arrangement/setting refers to the
arrangement listed in Texas Education Code (TEC), §48.102, and the weight
assigned to it that is used to generate funds from the state special education
allotment.
(2) Instructional day.
Instructional day has the meaning assigned to it in §
129.1025 of this title (relating
to Adoption by Reference: Student Attendance Accounting Handbook).
(b) Each school district must
provide special education and related services to eligible students with
disabilities in order to meet the unique needs of those students in accordance
with 34 Code of Federal Regulations, §§300.114-300.118, and state
law.
(c) Subject to §
89.1075(f) of
this title (relating to General Program Requirements and Local District
Procedures), for the purpose of determining the student's instructional
arrangement/setting, a student receiving special education and related services
must have available an instructional day commensurate with that of students who
are not receiving special education and related services and only modify the
instructional day when determined necessary by the admission, review, and
dismissal (ARD) committee. A student's ARD committee shall determine the
student's instructional arrangement/setting based on the percentage of the
student's instructional day that the student receives special education and
related services in a setting other than general education.
(d) While this section uses the names of the
instructional arrangements/settings as they are described in TEC, §48.102,
there may be additional instructional arrangement/setting codes that are
created by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) within the student attendance
accounting requirements defined in §
129.1025 of this title. While the
codes may be titled differently, each will align to an arrangement/setting as
described in this section and in TEC, §48.102.
(e) Instructional arrangements/settings shall
be based on the individual needs and individualized education programs (IEPs)
of eligible students receiving special education and related services and shall
include the following.
(1) Mainstream. This
instructional arrangement/setting is for providing special education and
related services to a student in the general education classroom in accordance
with the student's IEP. Qualified special education personnel must be involved
in the implementation of the student's IEP through the provision of direct,
indirect, and/or support services to the student and/or the student's general
education classroom teacher(s) necessary to enrich the general education
classroom and enable student success. The student's IEP must specify the
services that will be provided by qualified special education personnel to
enable the student to appropriately progress in the general education
curriculum and/or appropriately advance in achieving the goals set out in the
student's IEP. Examples of services provided in this instructional arrangement
include, but are not limited to, direct instruction, helping teacher, team
teaching, co-teaching, interpreter, educational aides, curricular or
instructional modifications/accommodations, special materials/equipment,
positive classroom behavioral interventions and supports, consultation with the
student and his/her general education classroom teacher(s) regarding the
student's progress in general education classes, staff development, and
reduction of ratio of students to instructional staff. Monitoring student
progress in and of itself is not a special education service; this cannot be
listed as the only specially designed instruction documented in a student's
IEP.
(2) Homebound. This
instructional arrangement/setting, also referred to as home-based instruction,
is for providing special education and related services to students who are
served at their home for the following reasons.
(A) Medical reasons. Homebound instruction is
used for a student whose ARD committee has received medical documentation from
a physician licensed to practice in the United States that the student is
expected to incur full-day absences from school for a minimum of four weeks for
medical reasons, which could include psychological disorders, and the ARD
committee has determined that this is the most appropriate placement for the
student. The weeks do not have to be consecutive. For the ARD committee to
approve this placement, the committee will review documentation related to
anticipated periods of student confinement to the home, as well as whether the
student is determined to be chronically ill or any other unique medical
circumstances that would require this placement in order to provide a free
appropriate public education (FAPE) to the student. Documentation by a
physician does not guarantee the placement of a student in this instructional
arrangement/setting, as the student's ARD committee shall determine whether the
placement is necessary for the provision of FAPE, and, if so, will determine
the amount of services to be provided to the student at home in this
instructional arrangement/setting in accordance with federal and state laws,
rules, and regulations, including the provisions specified in subsection (c) of
this section.
(B) Children ages
three through five years of age. Home-based instruction may be used for
children ages three through five when determined appropriate by the child's ARD
committee and as documented in the student's IEP. While this setting would
generate the same weight as the homebound instructional arrangement/setting,
the data on this setting may be collected differently than the medical
homebound arrangement/setting.
(C)
Students confined to or educated in hospitals. This instructional
arrangement/setting also applies to school districts described in TEC,
§29.014.
(3)
Hospital class. This instructional arrangement/setting is for providing special
education and related services by school district personnel:
(A) at a hospital or other medical facility;
or
(B) at a residential care and
treatment facility not operated by the school district. If a student residing
in the facility is provided special education and related services at a school
district campus but the student's parent is not a school district resident, the
student is considered to be in the residential care and treatment facility
instructional arrangement/setting. If a student residing in the facility is
provided special education and related services at a school district campus and
the parent, including a surrogate parent, is a school district resident, the
student's instructional arrangement/setting would be assigned based on the
services that are provided at the campus on the same basis as a resident
student residing with his or her parents.
(4) Speech therapy. This instructional
arrangement/setting is for providing speech therapy services whether in a
general education classroom or in a setting other than a general education
classroom.
(A) When the only special education
service provided to a student is speech therapy, then this instructional
arrangement may not be combined with any other instructional arrangement. If a
student's IEP indicates that a special education teacher is involved in the
implementation of the student's IEP but there is no indication of how that
teacher provides a special education service, the student is in the speech
therapy instructional arrangement/setting.
(B) When a student receives speech therapy
and a related service but no other special education service, the student is in
the speech therapy instructional arrangement/setting.
(5) Resource room/services. This
instructional arrangement/setting is for providing special education and
related services to a student in a setting other than general education for
less than 50% of the regular school day. For funding purposes, this will be
differentiated between the provision of special education and related services
to a student in a setting other than general education for less than 21% of the
instructional day and special education and related services provided to a
student in a setting other than general education for at least 21% of the
instructional day but less than 50% of the instructional day.
(6) Self-contained (mild, moderate, or
severe) regular campus. This instructional arrangement/setting is for providing
special education and related services to a student who is in a setting other
than general education for 50% or more of the regular school day on a regular
school campus. For funding purposes, mild/moderate will be considered at least
50% but no more than 60% of the student's instructional day, and severe will be
considered more than 60% of the student's instructional day.
(7) Off-home campus. This instructional
arrangement/setting is for providing special education and related services to
the following:
(A) a student at South Texas
Independent School District or Windham School District;
(B) a student who is one of a group of
students from one or more school districts served in a single location in
another school district when a FAPE is not available in the sending
district;
(C) a student in a
community setting, facility, or environment operated by a school district that
prepares the student for postsecondary education/training, competitive
integrated employment, and/or independent living in coordination with the
student's individual transition goals and objectives;
(D) a student in a community setting or
environment not operated by a school district that prepares the student for
postsecondary education/training, competitive integrated employment, and/or
independent living in coordination with the student's individual transition
goals, with regularly scheduled instruction or direct involvement provided by
school district personnel;
(E) a
student in a facility not operated by a school district with instruction
provided by school district personnel; or
(F) a student in a self-contained program at
a separate campus operated by the school district that provides only special
education and related services.
(8) Nonpublic day school. This instructional
arrangement/setting is for providing special education and related services to
students through a contractual agreement with a nonpublic school when the
school district is unable to provide a FAPE for the student. This instructional
arrangement/setting includes the providers listed in §
89.1094 of this title (relating to
Contracting for Nonpublic or Non-District Operated Day Placements for the
Provision of FAPE).
(9) Vocational
adjustment class. Although referred to as a class, this instructional
arrangement/setting is a support program for providing special education and
related services to a student who is placed on a job (paid or unpaid unless
otherwise prohibited by law) with regularly scheduled direct involvement by
special education personnel in the implementation of the student's IEP. This
instructional arrangement/setting shall be used in conjunction with the
student's transition plan, as documented in the student's IEP, and may include
special education services received in career and technical education
work-based learning programs.
(10)
Residential care and treatment facility (not school district resident). For
purposes of this section, residential care and treatment facility refers to a
facility at which a student with a disability currently resides, who was not
placed at the facility by the student's ARD committee, and whose parent or
guardian does not reside in the district providing educational services to the
student. This instructional arrangement/setting is for providing special
education and related services to a student on a school district campus who
resides in a residential care and treatment facility and whose parents do not
reside within the boundaries of the school district that is providing
educational services to the student. 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, or if the student resides at a
state-supported living center, the instructional arrangement will be considered
the state school arrangement/setting. 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.
(11) State-supported
living center (referred to as state school in TEC, §48.102). This
instructional arrangement/setting is for providing special education and
related services to a student who resides at a state-supported living center
when the services are provided at the state-supported living center location.
If services are provided on a local school district campus, the student is
considered to be served in the residential care and treatment facility
arrangement/setting.
(f)
Children from birth through the age of two with visual impairments (VI), who
are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), or who are deaf blind (DB) must be enrolled
at the parent's request by a school district when the district becomes aware of
a child needing services. The appropriate instructional arrangement for
students from birth through the age of two with VI, DHH, or DB shall be
determined in accordance with the individualized family services plan, current
attendance guidelines, and the agreement memorandum between TEA and Texas
Health and Human Services Commission Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)
Services. However, the following guidelines shall apply.
(1) A home-based instructional
arrangement/setting is used when the child receives services at home. This
arrangement/setting would generate the same weight as the homebound
instructional arrangement/setting, and average daily attendance (ADA) funding
will depend on the number of hours served per week.
(2) A center-based instructional
arrangement/setting is used when the child receives services in a day care
center, rehabilitation center, or other school/facility contracted with the
Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) as an ECI provider/program. This
arrangement/setting would generate the same weight as the self-contained,
severe instructional arrangement/setting, and ADA funding will depend on the
number of hours served per week.
(3) Funding may only be claimed if the
district is involved in the provision of the ECI and other support services for
the child. Otherwise, the child would be enrolled and indicated as not in
membership for purposes of funding. If the district is contracted with HHSC as
an ECI provider, funding would be generated under that contract.
(g) For nonpublic day and
residential placements, the school district must comply with the requirements
under §
89.1092 of this title (relating to
Contracting for Nonpublic Residential Placements for the Provision of a Free
Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)) or §
89.1094 of this title, as
appropriate.
(h) Other program
options that may be considered for the delivery of special education and
related services to a student may include the following:
(1) contracts with other school districts;
and
(2) other program options as
approved by TEA.
