The Texas Education Agency (TEA) proposes amendments to §§89.1011, 89.1040, 89.1049, 89.1055, 89.1070, and 89.1075; the repeal of §89.1047; and new §89.1047, concerning clarification of special education provisions in federal regulations and state law. The proposed revisions would modify procedures related to content and review of students' individualized education programs (IEPs), provisions related to transition services, notice requirements for students with disabilities and their parents, and procedures for surrogate and foster parents as well as make technical edits.

Amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) resulted in the removal of references to scientific, researched-based intervention and replaced those references with evidence-based intervention. The proposed amendments to §89.1011, Full Individual and Initial Evaluation, and §89.1040, Eligibility Criteria, would make technical changes to align these two sections with the changes in IDEA and ESSA.

House Bill (HB) 1556, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, amended the Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.015 and §29.0151, to change state requirements related to foster parents of students with disabilities and the appointing of surrogate parents to students with disabilities who are in the foster care system. The proposed repeal of §89.1047, Procedures for Surrogate and Foster Parents, and new §89.1047, Procedures for Special Education Decision-Making for Students in Foster Care, would address these new requirements.

Senate Bill (SB) 748 and HB 1886, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, amended the TEC, §29.017, to change state requirements related to notice regarding transfer of rights to adult students with disabilities and content of the student's IEP. The proposed amendments to §89.1049, Parental Rights Regarding Adult Students, and §89.1055, Content of the Individualized Education Program, would address these new requirements. In addition, the proposed amendment to §89.1055 would address updated state requirements for transition services resulting from changes to the TEC, §29.011, by SB 748 and HB 1886.

SB 463, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, amended the TEC, §28.0158 and §39.025, to extend the time frame under which a student who has failed to achieve end-of-course assessment graduation requirements for no more than two courses may graduate high school. The proposed amendment to §89.1070, Graduation Requirements, would address this change in time frame.

SB 1259, 84th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, amended the TEC, §29.001, to allow teachers who instruct a student with a disability in a regular classroom setting to provide input into the development of the student's IEP. To ensure consistency between statute and administrative rule, the proposed amendment to §89.1075, General Program Requirements and Local District Procedures, would incorporate this requirement into rule.

The proposed revisions would have no procedural and reporting implications. The proposed revisions would have no procedural and reporting implications.

FISCAL NOTE. Penny Schwinn, deputy commissioner for academics, has determined that for the first five-year period the revisions are in effect, there will be no fiscal implications for state or local government as a result of enforcing or administering the revisions. There is no effect on local economy for the first five years that the proposed revisions are in effect; therefore, no local employment impact statement is required under Texas Government Code, §2001.022. The proposed revisions do not impose a cost on regulated persons and, therefore, are not subject to Texas Government Code, §2001.0045.

PUBLIC BENEFIT/COST NOTE. Ms. Schwinn has determined that for each year of the first five years the revisions are in effect the public benefit anticipated as a result of enforcing the revisions will be providing constituents with clearly aligned state requirements related to special education services. There is no anticipated economic cost to persons who are required to comply with the proposed revisions.

ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT AND REGULATORY FLEXIBILITY ANALYSIS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, MICROBUSINESSES, AND RURAL COMMUNITIES. There is no direct adverse economic impact for small businesses, microbusinesses, and rural communities; therefore, no regulatory flexibility analysis, specified in Texas Government Code, §2006.002, is required.

REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. The public comment period on the proposal begins October 20, 2017, and ends November 20, 2017. Public hearings to solicit testimony and input on the proposed revisions will be held at 8:30 a.m. on October 30 and October 31, 2017, in Room 1-104, William B. Travis Building, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701. Anyone wishing to testify at one of the hearings must sign in between 8:15 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on the day of the respective hearing. Each hearing will conclude either once all who have signed in have been given the opportunity to comment or at 11:00 a.m., whichever comes first.

STATUTORY AUTHORITY. The amendments and new section are proposed under the Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.001, which requires the Texas Education Agency to develop and modify, as necessary, a statewide plan that includes rules for the administration and funding of the delivery of services to children with disabilities in the state of Texas so that a free appropriate public education is available to all of those children between the ages of 3 and 21; TEC, §29.011, as amended by Senate Bill (SB) 748 and House Bill (HB) 1886, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, which amends the transition requirements for students that must be in place for a student not later than when the student reaches 14 years of age; TEC, §29.015, as amended by HB 1556, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, which allows foster parents to serve as the parent of a student with a disability under certain circumstances and specifies the timelines for completing the required training program; TEC, §29.0151, as added by HB 1556, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, which establishes the requirements for surrogate parents of students with disabilities who are in the foster care system and specifies the timelines for completing the required training program; TEC, §29.017, as amended by SB 748 and HB 1886, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, which specifies the content of the notice that must be provided to students with disabilities and their parents not later than one year before a student's 18th birthday; requires students' individualized education programs (IEPs) to include a statement that the notice has been provided; and specifies the content of the notice that must be provided to students with disabilities and their parents when a student with a disability turns 18; and TEC, §28.0258 and §39.025, as amended by SB 463, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017, which allow a student who has failed to achieve the end-of-course assessment graduation requirements for no more than two courses to receive a Texas high school diploma under the TEC, §28.0258, with an expiration date of September 1, 2019.

CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTE. The amendments and new section implement the Texas Education Code, §§29.001; 29.011 and 29.017, as amended by Senate Bill (SB) 748 and House Bill (HB) 1886, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017; 28.0258 and 39.025, as amended by SB 463, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017; 29.015, as amended by HB 1556, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017; and 29.0151, as added by HB 1556, 85th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2017.