Additional Requirements

Transition services are a coordinated set of activities for the student with a disability that is designed as a results-oriented process focused on improving academic and functional achievement to facilitate movement from school to post-school activities. These services are based on the individual needs of the student, considering strengths, preferences, and interests. They include instruction, related services, community experiences, the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives, and, if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and the provision of a functional vocational evaluation. These issues must be reviewed by the ARD committee at least annually and the IEP must be updated, as appropriate.

Both the IDEA and the TEC include provisions relating to transition planning. While the IDEA requires transition planning to be included in the IEP no later than by age 16, in Texas, 19 TAC §89.1055 was amended to ensure that all state and federal transition requirements begin NO LATER THAN BY AGE 14. These rules were effective July 2024. The ARD committee must annually review all required transition components and, if necessary, update the IEP.

The following list highlights required components for transition by age 14, or younger if determined appropriate by the ARD committee.

The ARD committee must consider, and if appropriate, address the following issues in the student’s IEP:

1. Appropriate student involvement in the student’s transition to life outside the public-school system.
   • How is the student involved in developing their transition plan before, during, and after the ARD committee meeting?
   • Did the student receive an invitation to their ARD committee meeting separately from the notice sent to their parent?
   • How did the school collect information from the student about their aspirations for postsecondary education, employment, and independent living, including through transition assessments?
   • How were the student’s strengths, preferences, interests, and needs identified? What information was collected from the student to inform these areas?
2. Appropriate involvement in the student's transition by the student's parents and other persons invited to participate by the student’s parents or the school district in which the student is enrolled.
   • How do parents provide input on their child’s transition plan before, during, and after the ARD committee meeting?
   • How did the school collect information from the parent about their aspirations for their child’s postsecondary education, employment, and independent living, including through transition assessments?
   • How were the student’s strengths, preferences, interests, and needs identified? What information was collected from the parent to inform these areas?
3. Appropriate postsecondary education options, including preparation for postsecondary-level coursework.
   • What transition assessments have been conducted to determine the student’s preferences, interests, strengths, and needs related to postsecondary education?
   • What types of postsecondary education were identified through transition assessments?
   • How will the courses the student is taking/will take during high school prepare them for postsecondary education?
   • Are there special education services the student receives that support preparation for postsecondary-level coursework?
   • What other information is needed for the student and/or parents to make informed decisions about postsecondary education? How will that information be shared?
4. Appropriate functional vocational evaluation.
   • What transition assessments were conducted related to employment?
   • Did the completed transition assessments provide enough information to develop the student’s transition plan, including postsecondary goals for employment?
   • A functional vocational evaluation may be considered when a student has difficulty communicating their career interests, there is not a clear direction for next steps, or transition assessments have not provided enough information for the ARD committee to develop an appropriate transition plan.
5. Appropriate circumstances for facilitating a referral of a student or the student's parents to a governmental agency for services or public benefits, including a referral to a governmental agency to place the student on a waiting list for public benefits available to the student such as a waiver program established under the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1396n(c)), §1915(c).
   • Will the student need additional supports as an adult that are not currently being provided in high school?
   • Has the student been referred or placed on the Medicaid waiver interest list?
   • What information has already been shared with the student and/or parent, and what else is needed? How will that information be shared?
6. The use and availability of appropriate supplementary aids, services, curricula, and other opportunities to assist the student in developing decision-making skills and supports and services to foster the student's independence and self-determination, including a supported decision-making agreement under Texas Estates Code, Chapter 1357.
   • How can skills be assessed to determine self-determination competencies for each student, including decision-making?
   • Where are skills for self-determination taught within the school day? How will the student be included in these opportunities?
   • How is self-determination documented within the IEP, as appropriate (e.g., identifying the student’s access to school-wide opportunities related to self-regulation, or development of an annual IEP goal to address skills needed for decision-making)?
   • How is information about the transfer of rights, including alternatives to guardianship such as the supported decision-making agreement, provided to students and parents? If a supported decision-making agreement will be pursued by the student, what skills and disability-related needs have been identified in the PLAAFP?

For transition-related determinations, the ARD committee must document in the IEP: 

1. Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills.
   • What transition assessments have been conducted to determine the student’s strengths, interests, preferences, and disability-related needs in the areas of education/training, employment, and independent living? What were the results?
   • What are the student’s aspirations for employment? Will they need support to be successful in that setting, and if so, what type of support will be needed?
   • What are the student’s aspirations for postsecondary education/training? Will they need support to be successful in that setting, and if so, what type of support will be needed?
   • If transition assessments identified needs in the area of independent living, what are the student’s aspirations for accessing their community in adulthood? What type of support will be needed?
   • Are the postsecondary goals written as measurable statements, indicating what the student “will” do rather than “plans” or “hopes to” do?
2. Transition services, including courses of study, needed to assist the student in reaching the postsecondary goals.
   • Decisions about the specific content of transition services are determined by the ARD committee.
   • What special education services, including specially designed instruction, related services, and other supports, does the student currently receive?
   • What will need to be in place to have the necessary supports to meet their postsecondary goals after they have exited public school?
   • What activities will facilitate their movement from school to post-school in any of the following areas?
     • Instruction
     • Related Services
     • Community Experiences
     • The development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives
     • If appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and provision of a functional vocational
       evaluation.
   • Do the transition services include a multi-year description of coursework? The Personal Graduation Plan (PGP) specified by Texas Education Code §28.0212 and §28.02121 may be included in the IEP as the course of study.
   • Do the identified courses support the student’s postsecondary goals?

Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the student turns 18 years of age, additional IEP documentation should include:

1. Involvement in the student's transition and future by the student's parents and other persons, if the parent or other person: (A) is invited to participate by the student or the school district in which the student is enrolled; or (B) has the student's consent to participate pursuant to a supported decision-making agreement under Texas Estates Code, Chapter 1357.
   • How was the parent informed about the shift from primary decision-maker to support system for the adult student?
   • How is the parent notified of an ARD committee meeting?
   • What are the student’s preferences about their parent’s (or other supporter’s) involvement during the ARD committee meeting?
   • If the student is not able to communicate their preferences, how will decisions be made during the ARD meeting? Who will provide appropriate consent?
2. The availability of age-appropriate instructional environments, including community settings or environments that prepare the student for postsecondary education or training, competitive integrated employment, or independent living, in coordination with the student's transition goals and objectives.
   • How are students identified as eligible for continued enrollment in public school beyond completing graduation requirements?
   • What is the continuum of placement options for the ARD committee to consider for students who are ages 18-21?
   • What are the student’s postsecondary goals for education, employment and/or independent living, and what is the least restrictive environment to facilitate movement toward those goals?
   • What skills or adaptations will be needed for the student to retain employment beyond public school
   • What supports will the student need beyond public school, such as services available through agencies
   • How can those supports be established while the student is still in public school?

The student and the student’s parents must be informed no later than one year before the student reaches the age of majority (18), of the TRANSER OF RIGHTS UNDER THE IDEA that will take place when the student turns 18. The ARD committee must include a statement in the IEP that the student has been informed of the rights that will transfer to the student upon reaching the age of majority. The IEP must also include a statement that the student has been provided information and resources regarding guardianship, alternatives to guardianship, including a supported decision-making agreement under TEXAS ESTATES CODE, CHAPTER 1357, and other supports and services that may enable the student to live independently. The Notice of Transfer of Rights Model Form provides LEAs with a model form, information, and resources to notify students and parents of transfer of rights, guardianship, and alternatives to guardianship.

The transfer of rights to the adult student will occur unless the adult student has been determined to be incompetent under state law and a court of law has appointed an individual as the legal guardian for the adult student. When the student turns 18 and rights transfer, the school must notify the adult student and the parent of the transfer of rights.

For a student who is blind or visually impaired, the IEP MUST PROVIDE a detailed description of the arrangements made to provide the student with an evaluation of the impact of a student’s impairment and instruction in an expanded core curriculum (ECC).

Evaluation of the impact of the impairment is a summary of assessments completed by qualified professionals to determine the educational needs that result from a visual impairment. The evaluation identifies how the student can be involved and progress in the general education curriculum and addresses other educational needs that result from the child’s disability.

The assessments MUST include the following:

• A report from a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist that states visual loss in terms of exact measures of visual field and corrected visual acuity in each eye or an estimate if exact measures cannot be obtained and state that an estimate was made. The report should also include a diagnosis and prognosis whenever possible and whether the student has: (I) no vision or visual loss after correction; or (II) a progressive medical condition that will result in no vision or a visual loss after correction.
• A functional vision evaluation by a certified teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI) or a certified orientation and mobility specialist (COMS) that includes performance of tasks in a variety of environments requiring the use of both near and distance vision and recommendations concerning the need for a clinical low vision evaluation.
• A learning media assessment (LMA) by a TVI that includes recommendations concerning which specific visual, tactual, and/or auditory learning media are appropriate for the student and whether there is a need for ongoing evaluation in this area, and
• As part of a full and individual initial evaluation, an orientation and mobility (O&M) evaluation performed by a COMS in a variety of lighting conditions and settings to include home, school, community, and environments unfamiliar to the student.

Additional assessments may include the following:

• A clinical low vision evaluation completed by an eye care professional to prescribe optical devices.
• Additional tools to document performance in areas of the ECC.

Instruction in the ECC which includes: 

• Assistive Technology
• Career Planning
• Compensatory Skills
• Independent Living Skills
• Orientation and Mobility
• Recreation and Leisure
• Self-Determination
• Sensory Efficiency
• Social Interaction Skills

The IEP must also describe the plans and arrangements made for contacts with and continuing services to the student beyond regular school hours (if needed) to ensure the student learns the skills and receives instruction in the ECC.

The student’s IEP MUST INCLUDE INSTRUCTION IN BRAILLE (see (f)) and the use of braille unless the student’s ARD committee determines and documents that braille is not an appropriate literacy medium for the student. The ARD committee must make its determination based on an evaluation of the student’s appropriate literacy media and literacy skills and the student's current and future instructional needs. Each person who assists in the development of the IEP must receive information describing the benefits of braille instruction.

The student's IEP must address collaboration between school and home settings, including the possible need for parental training and counseling, as well additional training necessary for school district staff related to the specialized needs of students with visual impairments.

The EVALUATION DATA reviewed by a MDT in connection with the determination of a student’s eligibility based on an auditory impairment must include an audiological evaluation performed by a licensed audiologist to screen the student’s hearing loss in a variety of listening environments with and without amplification.

The STATEWIDE PLAN ensures that each student will be "assessed thoroughly so as to ascertain the student's potential for communications through a variety of means, including through oral or aural means, fingerspelling, or sign language."

Information from the evaluations will provide data on how the student is using their hearing.

A COMMUNICATION ASSESSMENT (number 6) is typically given by the teacher of the deaf in conjunction with the speech language pathologist to identify language and communication needs.

Data from the FIE, including the ontological (optional) and audiological (required) evaluation and communication assessment, will assist LEAs in identifying additional factors to consider adding to an IEP to support academic and functional needs for students who are DHH.

In addition to accommodations and/or modifications, the ARD committee shall consider the following:

• Language and communication needs (the student’s primary language) both receptively and expressively, while understanding that there may be multiple modes of communication in both areas. “Students who are deaf or hard of hearing must have an education in which their UNIQUE COMMUNICATION mode is respected, used, and developed to an appropriate level of proficiency.”
• Direct* communication opportunities with PEERS and other DHH ROLE MODELS (including academic and functional opportunities at school). Title 2 communication requirements may impact how some of these services are delivered and are not necessarily an IEP requirement but an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirement.
• Supports needed to achieve grade-level instruction and continue proficiency in grade-level academic skills.
• Full range of needs addressed such as: functional skills (self-advocacy) related services, counseling, Hearing Assistive Technology devices, and access to extra-curricular activities.

*Direct communication occurs person to person and not through an additional source such as an educational interpreter or captioner.

Once an IEP has been developed, the ARD committee will need to determine the intensity of the service delivery and the placement or instructional arrangement. A continuum of placement options must be reviewed with general education as the first placement to be considered. Students can receive services in several different placements and are not limited to just one type of placement. Any placement decisions must be based on the student’s IEP.

The ARD committee needs to use all of the data discussed: PLAAFPs, special factors, goals, supplementary aids and services, special education and related services, and the continuum of placement options before determining whether the student’s IEP can best be implemented on the home campus, Regional Day School Program for the Deaf (RDSPD), the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) in Austin, Texas or another appropriate site.

When the ARD committee determines that the student WILL BE PLACED AT the TSBVI or the TSD, the IEP must describe:

• The services in the student’s IEP that the TSBVI or the TSD can appropriately provide; and
• The criteria and estimated timelines for the student’s return to the resident school district, as applicable.

Referral for placement at TSD or TSBVI may occur in various ways. The student may be placed at TSD or TSBVI by the student’s ARD committee. In this instance, the student’s resident school district is responsible for assuring that FAPE is provided to the student at TSD or TSBVI. In addition to an ARD committee placement at TSD, parents of an eligible student with a disability or an eligible adult student with a disability may refer the student for whom TSD or TSBVI is an appropriate placement if the referring person chooses TSD or TSBVI as the appropriate placement instead of placement in the student’s resident school district or regional program determined by the ARD committee. In this case, TSD or TSBVI is responsible for the provision of FAPE to the student.

When a student's ARD committee places the student at the TSBVI or the TSD, the student's resident school district shall comply with the following requirements. (1) For each student, the resident school district shall list those services in the student's IEP which the TSBVI or the TSD can appropriately provide. (2) The district may make an on-site visit to verify that the TSBVI or the TSD can and will offer the services listed in the individual student's IEP and to ensure that the school offers an appropriate educational program for the student. (3) For each student, the resident school district shall include in the student's IEP the criteria and estimated timelines for returning the student to the resident school district. The student’s resident school district is required to PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION at the beginning and end of the term and for regularly scheduled school holidays when students are expected to leave the residential campus. The resident school district is not responsible for transportation costs for students placed in a residential setting by their parents.

If the ARD committee determines that a student will require transportation as a related service in order to attend and participate in academic services, extracurricular programs, and related services, the IEP must describe the way the transportation services will be provided.

The IDEA defines TRANSPORTATION as follows:

• Travel to and from school and between schools;
• Travel in and around school buildings; and
• Specialized equipment (such as special or adapted buses, lifts, and ramps), if required to provide transportation for a child with a disability.

The IDEA requires that school districts take steps to offer nonacademic and extracurricular activities in a manner that will afford students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in those activities. It expressly includes transportation as a nonacademic and extracurricular service and requires that those services be offered in the least restrictive environment (LRE).

ESY services are individualized instructional programs beyond the regular school year for eligible students with disabilities. An ARD committee considers ESY services for a student during the initial ARD committee meeting and at each annual review, based on data collected by the district and the student’s parents through formal or informal assessments. If the student has exhibited, or is reasonably expected to exhibit, an inability to maintain previously acquired progress in one or more critical IEP areas in the absence of ESY services, the ARD committee may determine that ESY services are needed. Services may be offered during the summer months, before and after regular school hours, and during school vacations. ESY services must be aligned with the student’s IEP, provided at no cost to the family, and must meet the standards of the TEA. If ESY services were considered and rejected at the initial/annual ARD committee meeting and the student later demonstrates a need for ESY services based on the above criteria, an ARD committee may convene, or an IEP amendment by agreement may be completed, to document the need for ESY services in the student’s IEP.

There are ELEVEN STRATEGIES that the ARD committee must consider for students with autism. The strategies must be considered, based on peer-reviewed, research-based educational programming practices to the extent practicable and, when needed, addressed in the IEP. The supplement is revised if changes are made in any of the eleven areas.

The eleven strategies are: 

1. Extended educational programming
2. Daily schedules and minimal unstructured time
3. In-home and community-based training
4. Positive behavior support strategies
5. Futures planning
6. Parent/family training
7. Staff-to-student ratio
8. Communication interventions
9. Social skills support and strategies
10. Professional educator and staff support
11. Teaching strategies

Consideration of these strategies in no way implies a requirement to implement any particular strategy. It is the responsibility of the ARD committee to determine on an individualized basis which of the strategies, if any, are to be included in a student’s IEP. If the ARD committee determines that services are not needed in one or more of the areas specified, the IEP must include a statement to that effect and the basis upon which the determination was made.

When an ARD committee determines that a RESIDENTIAL PLACEMENT or a placement in a nonpublic day or other off-campus program is necessary to provide a student with a FAPE, the IEP must describe:

• The services which the school district is unable to provide and which the facility will provide;
• The criteria and estimated timelines for the student’s return to the school district; and
• The appropriateness of the facility or program for the student.

During the initial placement ARD committee meeting and at each subsequent annual ARD committee meeting, the ARD committee must verify that:

• The facility meets minimum standards for health and safety
• Residential placement is needed and is documented in the IEP

• The educational program provided at the residential facility is appropriate and the placement is the least restrictive environment for the student

  

When making a residential placement for educational purposes, the LEA must notify the TEA of residential placement within 30 calendar days. The process for notification is made through the Nonpublic Placement Notification and Application in Texas Education Agency Login (APEX). TEA will follow its approval procedures following receipt of the notice.

A behavioral improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan (BIP) may be necessary when a student’s behavior impedes the student’s learning or the learning of others. If the ARD committee determines that a BIP is required, it must be INCLUDED as part of the student’s IEP and provided to each teacher who has responsibility for educating the student. When a student has a BIP, the ARD committee must review the BIP at least annually or more frequently, as needed, to modify or address the behavior. When reviewing the student’s BIP the ARD committee must address the safety of the student and others, and changes in CIRCUMSTANCES (see (h)), including but not limited to:

• placement of the student in a different education setting;
• an increase or persistence in disciplinary actions taken regarding the student for similar types of behavior;
• a pattern of unexcused absences; or
• an unauthorized unsupervised departure from an educational setting

• Secondary Transition Guidance
• The Texas Legal Framework: Transition Services
• TEA State Graduation Requirements
• Transition and Employment Designee (TED) Guidelines
• TEA Graduation Guidance (Special Education)
• Texas Workforce Commission
• Texas Health and Human Services
• National Technical Assistance Center on Transition
• The Texas Legal Framework: Transition Services – Transfer of Rights At Age of Majority
• Notice of Transfer of Rights Model Form
• The Texas Legal Framework: Special Factors – Blind or Visually Impaired
• Students with Visual Impairments: Eligibility for Special Education
• TEA Sensory Impairments
• Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI)
• Required Annual Dissemination for Students who are DHH, VI, DB
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Eligibility for Special Education
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Communication Assessments
• Deaf and Hard of Hearing: Least Restrictive Environment when Determining Placement
• The Legal Framework: Deaf or Hard of Hearing
• Statewide Outreach Center at Texas School for the Deaf (SOC at TSD)
• The Texas Legal Framework: Supplementary Aids and Services, Special Education, Related Services
• OSERS Questions and Answers on Serving Children with Disabilities Eligible for Transportation
• TEA Transportation Funding Guidance
• The Texas Legal Framework: Extended School Year Services
• Autism Toolkit
• The Texas Legal Framework: Special Factors – Autism
• Autism Supplement: Commissioner’s Rule Related to Autism Guidance
• Texas Autism Circuit Academy
• Texas Autism Resource Guide for Effective Teaching (TARGET)
• The Texas Legal Framework: Residential Placements
• TEA Special Education in Nonpublic Schools: Approved Process for Private Facilities that Provide Special Education Instruction
• Community Resource Coordination Groups (CRCG) of Texas
• The Texas Legal Framework: Discipline (scroll to Discipline section)
• TEA Discipline and School Removals
• TEA House Bill 785 FAQ (FBA and BIP)
• TEA Senate Bill 712 Summary and FAQ (aversive techniques)
• Texas Behavior Support Initiative (TBSI) training course
• U.S. Department of Education: School Climate and Discipline
• OSEP Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
• TEA's FBA and BIP Issues and Strategies Course
• U.S. Department of Education guidance concerning students with disabilities and discipline
• Discipline Flowchart for Students Identified with or Suspected to Have a Disability Under IDEA