Sec. 29.005.  INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.  (a)  Before a child is enrolled in a special education program of a school district, the district shall establish a committee composed of the persons required under 20 U.S.C. Section 1414(d) to develop the child's individualized education program.  If a committee is required to include a regular education teacher, the regular education teacher included must, to the extent practicable, be a teacher who is responsible for implementing a portion of the child's individualized education program.
(b)  The committee shall develop the individualized education program by agreement of the committee members or, if those persons cannot agree, by an alternate method provided by the agency.  Majority vote may not be used to determine the individualized education program.
(b-1)  The written statement of the individualized education program must document the decisions of the committee with respect to issues discussed at each committee meeting.  The written statement must include:
(1)  the date of the meeting;
(2)  the name, position, and signature of each member participating in the meeting; and
(3)  an indication of whether the child's parents, the adult student, if applicable, and the administrator agreed or disagreed with the decisions of the committee.
(c)  If the individualized education program is not developed by agreement, the written statement of the program required under 20 U.S.C. Section 1414(d) must include the basis of the disagreement.  Each member of the committee who disagrees with the individualized education program developed by the committee is entitled to include a statement of disagreement in the written statement of the program.
(d)  If the child's parent is unable to speak English, the district shall:
(1)  provide the parent with a written or audiotaped copy of the child's individualized education program translated into Spanish if Spanish is the parent's native language;  or
(2)  if the parent's native language is a language other than Spanish, make a good faith effort to provide the parent with a written or audiotaped copy of the child's individualized education program translated into the parent's native language.
(e)  The commissioner by rule may require a school district to include in the individualized education program of a student with autism or another pervasive developmental disorder any information or requirement determined necessary to ensure the student receives a free appropriate public education as required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1400 et seq.).
(f)  The written statement of a student's individualized education program may be required to include only information included in the model form developed under Section 29.0051(a).
(g)  The committee may determine that a behavior improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan is appropriate for a student for whom the committee has developed an individualized education program.  If the committee makes that determination, the behavior improvement plan or the behavioral intervention plan shall be included as part of the student's individualized education program and provided to each teacher with responsibility for educating the student.
(h)  If a behavior improvement plan or a behavioral intervention plan is included as part of a student's individualized education program under Subsection (g), the committee shall review the plan at least annually and more frequently if appropriate to address:
(1)  changes in a student's circumstances that may impact the student's behavior, such as:
(A)  the placement of the student in a different educational setting;
(B)  an increase or persistence in disciplinary actions taken regarding the student for similar types of behavioral incidents;
(C)  a pattern of unexcused absences; or
(D)  an unauthorized unsupervised departure from an educational setting; or
(2)  the safety of the student or others.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1372, Sec. 1, eff. June 19, 1999;  Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 767, Sec. 3, eff. June 13, 2001.
Amended by: 
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 838 (S.B. 882), Sec. 12, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1250 (S.B. 1788), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2011.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 458 (S.B. 914), Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 2013.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1192 (S.B. 1259), Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 2015.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 225 (H.B. 785), Sec. 1, eff. June 4, 2021.