| (4) Parents and guardians who receive an award notification
but whose student no longer qualifies under subsection (c) of this
section shall notify TEA of their student's change in eligibility
status.
(5) Within 30 calendar days from receiving an award
notification email, parents and guardians must:
(A) access or log in to their account or the account
may be subject to reclamation; and
(B) agree to and sign the parental agreement.
(h) Use of funds. Use of program funds provided to
parents and guardians are limited as follows.
(1) Only materials and services available through the
marketplace of approved providers and vendors may be purchased with
program funds.
(2) Materials and services must directly benefit the
eligible student's educational needs.
(3) Materials shall be used in compliance with TEA
purchasing guidelines.
(4) If TEA approves vendors for a category of material
under subsection (e) of this section, materials must be purchased
from the TEA-approved vendor for that category of material. If TEA
does not establish criteria for a category of materials, funds in
a student's account may be used to purchase the materials from any
vendor.
(5) The contracted ESC has full authority to reject
or deny any purchase.
(6) Parents and guardians may not use program funds
for reimbursement of goods or services obtained outside of the marketplace.
Program funds shall not be paid directly to parents or guardians of
eligible students.
(i) Account use restrictions. TEA may, subject to the
appeal process referenced in subsection (f)(5) of this section, close
or suspend accounts and reclaim a portion or all of the funds from
accounts in the marketplace if:
(1) the materials or services that parents or guardians
attempt to purchase are not educational in nature or are deemed to
be in violation of the purchasing guidelines set forth by TEA;
(2) it is determined that the materials or services
purchased do not meet the definitions in subsection (b)(5) and (6)
of this section;
(3) the program parental agreement is not signed within
30 calendar days of receipt of account email from the marketplace
vendor; or
(4) a student no longer meets the eligibility criteria
set out in subsection (c) of this section.
(j) Requirements to provide information. School districts
and open-enrollment charter schools shall notify families of the program
and, unless the school district or charter school has verified that
a parent has already received or applied for a program grant, shall
provide the following at the student's admission, review, and dismissal
(ARD) committee meeting:
(1) instructions and resources on accessing the online
accounts, including the application window established by TEA; and
(2) information about the types of goods and services
that are available through the program grant.
(k) Restrictions. A student's ARD committee may not
consider a student's current or anticipated eligibility for any materials
or services that may be provided under this section when developing
or revising a student's IEP, when determining a student's educational
setting, or in the provision of a free appropriate public education.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §102.1601 adopted to be effective December 12, 2021, 46 TexReg 8345; amended to be effective April 18, 2023, 48 TexReg 1957; amended to be effective May 28, 2024, 49 TexReg 3798 |
