(a) Each school district must establish an admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee for each eligible student with a disability and for each student for whom a full individual and initial evaluation is conducted pursuant to §89.1011 of this title (relating to Full Individual and Initial Evaluation). The ARD committee is the individualized education program (IEP) team defined in federal law and regulations, including, specifically, 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), §300.321. The school district is responsible for all of the functions for which the IEP team is responsible under federal law and regulations and for which the ARD committee is responsible under state law, including the following:
  (1) 34 CFR, §§300.320-300.325, and Texas Education Code (TEC), §29.005 (individualized education programs);
  (2) 34 CFR, §§300.145-300.147 (relating to placement of eligible students in private schools by a school district);
  (3) 34 CFR, §§300.132, 300.138, and 300.139 (relating to the development and implementation of service plans for eligible students placed by parents in private school who have been designated to receive special education and related services);
  (4) 34 CFR, §300.530 and §300.531, and TEC, §37.004 (disciplinary placement of students with disabilities);
  (5) 34 CFR, §§300.302-300.306 (relating to evaluations, re-evaluations, and determination of eligibility);
  (6) 34 CFR, §§300.114-300.117 (relating to least restrictive environment);
  (7) TEC, §28.006 (Reading Diagnosis);
  (8) TEC, §28.0211 (Satisfactory Performance on Assessment Instruments Required; Accelerated Instruction);
  (9) TEC, §28.0212 (Junior High or Middle School Personal Graduation Plan);
  (10) TEC, §28.0213 (Intensive Program of Instruction);
  (11) TEC, Chapter 29, Subchapter I (Programs for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing);
  (12) TEC, §30.002 (Education for Children with Visual Impairments);
  (13) TEC, §30.003 (Support of Students Enrolled in the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired or Texas School for the Deaf);
  (14) TEC, §33.081 (Extracurricular Activities);
  (15) TEC, §37.004 (Placement of Students with Disabilities);
  (16) TEC, §37.307 (Placement and Review of Student with Disability);
  (17) TEC, Chapter 39, Subchapter B (Assessment of Academic Skills); and
  (18) TEC, §48.102 (Special Education).
(b) For a student from birth through two years of age with a visual impairment or who is deaf or hard of hearing, an individualized family services plan meeting must be held in place of an ARD committee meeting in accordance with 34 CFR, §§300.320-300.324, and the memorandum of understanding between the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. For students three years of age and older, school districts must develop an IEP.
(c) ARD committee membership.
  (1) ARD committees must include the following:
    (A) the parents, as defined by 34 CFR, §300.30, of the student;
    (B) not less than one general education teacher of the student (if the student is, or may be, participating in the general education environment) who must, to the extent practicable, be a teacher who is responsible for implementing a portion of the student's IEP;
    (C) not less than one special education teacher of the student, or where appropriate, not less than one special education provider of the student;
    (D) a representative of the school district who:
      (i) is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities;
      (ii) is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and
      (iii) is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the school district;
    (E) an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the committee described in subparagraphs (B)-(D) and (F) of this paragraph;
    (F) at the discretion of the parent or the school district, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, including related services personnel, as appropriate;
    (G) whenever appropriate, the student with a disability;
    (H) to the extent appropriate, with the consent of the parents or a student who has reached the age of majority, a representative of any participating agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services;
    (I) a representative from career and technical education (CTE), preferably the teacher, when considering initial or continued placement of a student in CTE; and
    (J) a professional staff member who is on the language proficiency assessment committee who may be a member of the committee described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph, if the student is identified as emergent bilingual.
  (2) The special education teacher or special education provider that participates in the ARD committee meeting must be appropriately certified or licensed as required by 34 CFR, §300.156.
  (3) If the student is:
    (A) a student with a suspected or documented visual impairment, the ARD committee must include a teacher who is certified in the education of students with visual impairments;
    (B) a student who is suspected or documented to be deaf or hard of hearing, the ARD committee must include a teacher who is certified in the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing;
    (C) a student with suspected or documented deaf-blindness, the ARD committee must include a teacher who is certified in the education of students with visual impairments and a teacher who is certified in the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing; or
    (D) a student who is suspected or identified with dyslexia, when determining initial or continued eligibility, the ARD committee must include a professional who meets the requirements of TEC, §29.0031(b), and §74.28 of this title (relating to Students with Dyslexia and Related Disorders), including any handbook adopted in the rule.
  (4) An ARD committee member is not required to attend an ARD committee meeting if the conditions of either 34 CFR, §300.321(e)(1), regarding attendance, or 34 CFR, §300.321(e)(2), regarding excusal, have been met.
(d) The school district must take steps to ensure that one or both parents are present at each ARD committee meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate, including notifying the parents of the meeting early enough to ensure that they will have an opportunity to attend and scheduling the meeting at a mutually agreed upon time and place. Additionally, a school district must allow parents who cannot attend an ARD committee meeting to participate in the meeting through other methods such as through telephone calls or video conferencing. The school district must provide the parents with written notice of the ARD committee meeting that meets the requirements in 34 CFR, §300.322, at least five school days before the meeting unless the parents agree to a shorter timeframe.
(e) Upon receipt of a written request for an ARD committee meeting from a parent, the school district must:
  (1) schedule and convene a meeting in accordance with the procedures in subsection (d) of this section; or
  (2) within five school days, provide the parent with written notice explaining why the district refuses to convene a meeting.
(f) The school district must provide the parent with a written notice required under subsection (d) or (e)(2) of this section in the parent's native language, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so. If the parent's native language is not a written language, the school district must take steps to ensure that the notice is translated orally or by other means to the parent in his or her native language or other mode of communication so that the parent understands the content of the notice.
(g) Whenever a school district proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a student or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the student, the school district must provide prior written notice as required in 34 CFR, §300.503, including providing the notice in the parent's native language or other mode of communication. This notice must be provided to the parent at least five school days before the school district proposes or refuses the action unless the parent agrees to a shorter timeframe.

Source Note: The provisions of this §89.1050 adopted to be effective March 6, 2001, 26 TexReg 1837; amended to be effective August 1, 2002, 27 TexReg 3061; amended to be effective November 16, 2003, 28 TexReg 9830; amended to be effective November 11, 2007, 32 TexReg 8129; amended to be effective January 1, 2015, 39 TexReg 10446; amended to be effective December 2, 2015, 40 TexReg 8642; amended to be effective March 22, 2017, 42 TexReg 1247; amended to be effective March 14, 2021, 46 TexReg 1466; amended to be effective October 5, 2021, 46 TexReg6533;amendedto be effective June 7, 2022, 47 TexReg 3248; amended to be effective July 18, 2023, 48 TexReg 3906; amended to be effective July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507