<<Prev Rule

Texas Administrative Code

Next Rule>>
TITLE 19EDUCATION
PART 2TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY
CHAPTER 89ADAPTATIONS FOR SPECIAL POPULATIONS
SUBCHAPTER AACOMMISSIONER'S RULES CONCERNING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES
DIVISION 2CLARIFICATION OF PROVISIONS IN FEDERAL REGULATIONS
RULE §89.1040Eligibility Criteria
Historical Texas Register

(a) Special education and related services. To be eligible to receive special education and related services, a student must be a "child with a disability," as defined in 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), §300.8(a), subject to the provisions of 34 CFR, §300.8(c), the Texas Education Code (TEC), Subchapter A, and this section. The provisions in this section specify criteria to be used in determining whether a student's condition meets one or more of the definitions in federal regulations or in state law.

(b) Eligibility determination. The determination of whether a student is eligible for special education and related services is made by the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee. Any evaluation or re-evaluation of a student must be conducted in accordance with 34 CFR, §§300.301-300.306 and 300.122. The multidisciplinary team that collects or reviews evaluation data in connection with the determination of a student's eligibility must include, but is not limited to, the following:

  (1) a licensed specialist in school psychology (LSSP)/school psychologist, an educational diagnostician, or other appropriately certified or licensed practitioner with experience and training in the area of the disability; or

  (2) a licensed or certified professional for a specific eligibility category defined in subsection (c) of this section.

(c) Eligibility definitions.

  (1) Autism. A student with autism is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for autism as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(1). A determination of whether a student meets the criteria for autism as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(1), cannot require that the student meets the requirements for a medical/psychological diagnosis of autism. The absence of other characteristics often associated with autism listed in 34 CFR, 300.8(c)(1), does not exclude a student from meeting eligibility as a student with autism. The team's written report of evaluation must include specific recommendations for communication, social interaction, and positive behavioral interventions and strategies.

  (2) Deaf-blindness. A student with deaf-blindness is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for deaf-blindness as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(2). In meeting the criteria stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(2), a student with deaf-blindness is one who, based on the evaluations specified in subsection (c)(3) and (12) of this section:

    (A) meets the eligibility criteria for a student who is deaf or hard of hearing specified in subsection (c)(3) of this section and visual impairment specified in subsection (c)(12) of this section;

    (B) meets the eligibility criteria for a student with a visual impairment and has a suspected hearing loss that cannot be demonstrated conclusively, but a speech/language therapist, a certified speech and language therapist, or a licensed speech language pathologist indicates there is no speech at an age when speech would normally be expected;

    (C) has documented hearing and visual losses that, if considered individually, may not meet the requirements for a student who is deaf or hard of hearing or for visual impairment, but the combination of such losses adversely affects the student's educational performance; or

    (D) has a documented medical diagnosis of a progressive medical condition that will result in concomitant hearing and visual losses that, without the provision of special education services, will adversely affect the student's educational performance.

  (3) Deaf or hard of hearing.

    (A) A student who is deaf or hard of hearing is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for deafness as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(3), or for students who have a hearing impairment as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(5). The evaluation data reviewed by the multidisciplinary team in connection with the determination of a student's eligibility based on being deaf or hard of hearing must include an audiological evaluation performed by a licensed audiologist and a communication assessment completed by the multidisciplinary team. The evaluation data must include a description of the implications of the hearing loss for the student's hearing in a variety of circumstances with or without recommended hearing assistive technology.

    (B) A child under three years of age meets the criteria for deaf or hard of hearing if the student's record indicates that the child is experiencing a developmental delay because of hearing loss or impairment, or the child has a physical or mental condition that has a high probability of resulting in a developmental delay and a sensory impairment, in accordance with 34 CFR, §303.21.

  (4) Emotional disability. A student with an emotional disability is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for emotional disturbance as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(4). The written report of evaluation must include specific recommendations for positive behavioral supports and interventions. The term emotional disability is synonymous with the term emotional disturbance and serious emotional disturbance, as these terms are used in federal or state law pertaining to students eligible for special education and related services.

  (5) Intellectual disability. A student with an intellectual disability is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for an intellectual disability as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(6). In meeting the criteria stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(6), a student with an intellectual disability is one who:

    (A) has been determined to have significantly sub-average intellectual functioning as measured by a standardized, individually administered test of cognitive ability in which the overall test score is at least two standard deviations below the mean, when taking into consideration the standard error of measurement of the test; and

    (B) concurrently exhibits deficits in at least two of the following areas of adaptive behavior: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work, leisure, health, and safety.

  (6) Multiple disabilities.

    (A) A student with multiple disabilities is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for multiple disabilities as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(7). In meeting the criteria stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(7), that a combination of impairments causes such severe educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments, a student with multiple disabilities is one who has a combination of disabilities defined in this section and who meets all of the following conditions:

      (i) the student's disabilities are expected to continue indefinitely; and

      (ii) the disabilities severely impair performance in two or more of the following areas:

        (I) psychomotor skills;

        (II) self-care skills;

        (III) communication;

        (IV) social and emotional development; or

        (V) cognition.

    (B) Students who have more than one of the disabilities defined in this section but who do not meet the criteria in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph must not be classified or reported as having multiple disabilities.

    (C) Multiple disabilities does not include deaf-blindness.

  (7) Orthopedic impairment. A student with an orthopedic impairment is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for orthopedic impairment as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(8). A student's eligibility based on an orthopedic impairment must include a medical diagnosis provided by a licensed physician.

  (8) Other health impairment. A student with other health impairment is one who has been determined to meet the criteria for other health impairment due to chronic or acute health problems such as asthma, attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, a heart condition, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, and Tourette's Disorder as stated in 34 CFR, §300.8(c)(9). A student's eligibility based on other health impairment must include identification or confirmation of the student's chronic or acute health problem provided by a licensed physician, a physician assistant, or an advanced practice registered nurse with authority delegated under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 157.

  (9) Specific learning disability.

    (A) Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities; intellectual disability; emotional disability; or Cont'd...

Next Page

Link to Texas Secretary of State Home Page | link to Texas Register home page | link to Texas Administrative Code home page | link to Open Meetings home page