Sec. 48.102.  SPECIAL EDUCATION.  (a)  For each student in average daily attendance in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, in a mainstream instructional arrangement, a school district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the basic allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the district is entitled, multiplied by 1.15.  For each full-time equivalent student in average daily attendance in a special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29, in an instructional arrangement other than a mainstream instructional arrangement, a district is entitled to an annual allotment equal to the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the basic allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the district is entitled, multiplied by a weight determined according to instructional arrangement as follows:
Self-contained, mild and moderate,
(b)  A special instructional arrangement for students with disabilities residing in care and treatment facilities, other than state schools, whose parents or guardians do not reside in the district providing education services shall be established by commissioner rule.  The funding weight for this arrangement shall be 4.0 for those students who receive their education service on a local school district campus.  A special instructional arrangement for students with disabilities residing in state schools shall be established by commissioner rule with a funding weight of 2.8.
(c)  For funding purposes, the number of contact hours credited per day for each student in the off home campus instructional arrangement may not exceed the contact hours credited per day for the multidistrict class instructional arrangement in the 1992-1993 school year.
(d)  For funding purposes the contact hours credited per day for each student in the resource room;  self-contained, mild and moderate; and self-contained, severe, instructional arrangements may not exceed the average of the statewide total contact hours credited per day for those three instructional arrangements in the 1992-1993 school year.
(e)  The commissioner by rule shall prescribe the qualifications an instructional arrangement must meet in order to be funded as a particular instructional arrangement under this section.  In prescribing the qualifications that a mainstream instructional arrangement must meet, the commissioner shall establish requirements that students with disabilities and their teachers receive the direct, indirect, and support services that are necessary to enrich the regular classroom and enable student success.
(f)  In this section, "full-time equivalent student" means 30 hours of contact a week between a special education student and special education program personnel.
(g)  The commissioner shall adopt rules and procedures governing contracts for residential placement of special education students.  The legislature shall provide by appropriation for the state's share of the costs of those placements.
(h)  At least 55 percent of the funds allocated under this section must be used in the special education program under Subchapter A, Chapter 29.
(i)  The agency shall encourage the placement of students in special education programs, including students in residential instructional arrangements, in the least restrictive environment appropriate for their educational needs.
(j)  A school district that provides an extended year program required by federal law for special education students who may regress is entitled to receive funds in an amount equal to 75 percent, or a lesser percentage determined by the commissioner, of the basic allotment, or, if applicable, the sum of the basic allotment and the allotment under Section 48.101 to which the district is entitled for each full-time equivalent student in average daily attendance, multiplied by the amount designated for the student's instructional arrangement under this section, for each day the program is provided divided by the number of days in the minimum school year.  The total amount of state funding for extended year services under this section may not exceed $10 million per year.  A school district may use funds received under this section only in providing an extended year program.
(k)  From the total amount of funds appropriated for special education under this section, the commissioner shall withhold an amount specified in the General Appropriations Act, and distribute that amount to school districts for programs under Section 29.014.  The program established under that section is required only in school districts in which the program is financed by funds distributed under this subsection and any other funds available for the program.  After deducting the amount withheld under this subsection from the total amount appropriated for special education, the commissioner shall reduce each district's allotment proportionately and shall allocate funds to each district accordingly.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, Sec. 1, eff. May 30, 1995.  Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 545, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by: 
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 494 (H.B. 1130), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.
Transferred, redesignated and amended from Education Code, Section 42.151 by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 943 (H.B. 3), Sec. 1.025, eff. September 1, 2019.