Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 89 - ADAPTATIONS FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS › Subchapter AA - COMMISSIONER'S RULES CONCERNING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES › Division 2 - CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS IN FEDERAL REGULATIONS › Section 89.1092 - Contracting for Residential Educational Placements for Students with Disabilities

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
					 Residential placement. A school district may contract for residential placement
					 of a student when the student's admission, review, and dismissal (ARD)
					 committee determines that a residential placement is necessary in order for the
					 student to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
(1) A school district may contract for a
					 residential placement of a student only with either public or private
					 residential facilities that maintain current and valid licensure by the Texas
					 Department of Aging and Disability Services, Texas Department of Family and
					 Protective Services, or Department of State Health Services for the particular
					 disabling condition and age of the student. A school district may contract for
					 an out-of-state residential placement in accordance with the provisions of
					 subsection (d)(3) of this section.
(2) Subject to subsections (c) and (d) of
					 this section, the district may contract with a residential facility to provide
					 some or all of the special education services listed in the contracted
					 student's individualized education program (IEP). If the facility provides any
					 educational services listed in the student's IEP, the facility's education
					 program must be approved by the commissioner of education in accordance with
					 subsection (d) of this section.
(3) A school district that intends to
					 contract for residential placement of a student with a residential facility
					 under this section shall notify the Texas Education Agency (TEA) of its intent
					 to contract for the residential placement through the residential application
					 process described in subsection (c) of this section.
(4) The school district has the following
					 responsibilities when making a residential placement.
(A) Before the school district places a
					 student with a disability in, or refers a student to, a residential facility,
					 the district shall initiate and conduct a meeting of the student's ARD
					 committee to develop an IEP for the student in accordance with 34 Code of
					 Federal Regulations (CFR), §§300.320-300.325, state statutes, and
					 commissioner rules.
(B) For each
					 student, the services that the school district is unable to provide and that
					 the facility will provide shall be listed in the student's IEP.
(C) For each student, the ARD committee shall
					 establish, in writing, criteria and estimated timelines for the student's
					 return to the school district.
(D)
					 The appropriateness of the facility for each student residentially placed shall
					 be documented in the IEP. General screening by a regional education service
					 center is not sufficient to meet the requirements of this subsection.
(E) The school district shall make
					 one announced initial visit and two subsequent onsite visits annually, one
					 announced and one unannounced, to verify that the residential facility can and
					 will provide the services listed in the student's IEP that the facility has
					 agreed to provide to the student.
(F) For each student placed in a residential
					 facility (both initial and continuing placements), the school district shall
					 verify, during the initial residential placement ARD committee meeting and each
					 subsequent annual ARD committee meeting, that:
(i) the facility meets minimum standards for
					 health and safety;
(ii)
					 residential placement is needed and is documented in the IEP; and
(iii) the educational program provided at the
					 residential facility is appropriate and the placement is the least restrictive
					 environment for the student.
(G) The placement of more than one student in
					 the same residential facility may be considered in the same onsite visit to a
					 facility; however, the IEP of each student must be individually reviewed and a
					 determination of appropriateness of placement and service must be made for each
					 student.
(H) When a student who is
					 residentially placed by a school district changes his or her residence to
					 another Texas school district and the student continues in the contracted
					 placement, the school district that negotiated the contract shall be
					 responsible for the residential contract for the remainder of the school year.