(a) Parties. The state agencies named in this subsection are parties to this memorandum of understanding (MOU) and will be collectively referred to as the "parties." The term "Health and Human Service (HHS) agencies" will refer to all parties except the Texas Education Agency, Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, and Texas Youth Commission.
  (1) Texas Education Agency (TEA);
  (2) Texas Department of Human Services (TDHS);
  (3) Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation (TDMHMR);
  (4) Texas Department of Health (TDH);
  (5) Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (PRS);
  (6) Texas Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention (ECI);
  (7) Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (TCADA);
  (8) Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC); and
  (9) Texas Youth Commission (TYC).
(b) Purpose. In accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC),§29.012(d), the purpose of this MOU is to:
  (1) establish the respective responsibilities of school districts and of residential facilities (RFs) for the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE), as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)(20 USC §1400 et seq.) and its subsequent amendments, including each requirement for children with disabilities who reside in those facilities;
  (2) coordinate regulatory and planning functions of the parties;
  (3) establish criteria for determining when a public school will provide educational services;
  (4) provide for appropriate educational space when education services will be provided at the residential facility;
  (5) establish measures designed to ensure the safety of students and teachers; and
  (6) provide for binding arbitration consistent with Texas Government Code, Chapter 2009, and Civil Practice and Remedies Code, §154.027.
(c) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this MOU, shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Consistent with TEC, §5.001(8), "residential facility" (RF) means:
    (A) a facility operated by a state agency or political subdivision, including a child placement agency, that provides 24-hour custody or care of a person 22 years of age or younger, if the person resides in the facility for detention, treatment, foster care, or any non-educational purpose; and
    (B) any person or entity that contracts with or is funded, licensed, certified, or regulated by a state agency or political subdivision to provide custody or care for a person under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph. RFs include, but are not limited to:
      (i) child care facilities or institutions;
      (ii) independent foster group homes providing basic, therapeutic or rehabilitative services;
      (iii) independent foster family homes providing basic, therapeutic or rehabilitative services;
      (iv) agency foster family/group homes verified by a child placing agency licensed by PRS;
      (v) intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICFs-MR);
      (vi) psychiatric treatment centers;
      (vii) therapeutic camps or ranches;
      (viii) residential treatment centers licensed by PRS;
      (ix) nursing facilities;
      (x) TYC halfway houses and contract facilities;
      (xi) emergency shelters;
      (xii) hospitals;
      (xiii) juvenile pre-adjudication detention facilities;
      (xiv) juvenile post-adjudication secure correctional facilities;
      (xv) residential facilities funded and/or licensed by TCADA;
      (xvi) settings other than the student's natural or adoptive home in which residential services are provided in programs authorized by the Social Security Act, §1915(c); and
      (xvii) state hospitals, state schools, and state centers operated by TDMHMR.
  (2) "Student with a disability" means an individual who is eligible to receive special education and related services in accordance with IDEA and its implementing regulations, Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34, §§300.1 et seq., and state laws and rules, including, without limitation, TEC, Chapter 29, and Chapter 89 of this title (relating to Adaptations for Special Populations).
  (3) Consistent with 20 USC §1401(8), "free appropriate public education" (FAPE) means special education and related services that:
    (A) are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge;
    (B) meet the standards of TEA;
    (C) include preschool, elementary, or secondary school education; and
    (D) are provided in conformity with the student's individualized education program (IEP).
  (4) Consistent with 20 U. S. C. §1401(15), "local educational agency" (LEA) means any public authority, institution, or agency having administrative control and direction of a public elementary or secondary school, including a public charter school that is established as an LEA under state law.
(d) Terms of MOU. The parties agree to the following terms:
  (1) The responsibilities of LEAs and RFs related to the provision of a FAPE to students with disabilities who reside in RFs are established as follows.
    (A) LEAs must provide or ensure the provision of a FAPE to students with disabilities residing in RFs in accordance with IDEA, applicable federal regulations, and state laws and rules.
      (i) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, an LEA must provide or ensure the provision of a FAPE for a student with a disability residing in an RF located in the geographical area served by that LEA.
      (ii) If an LEA places a student with a disability in an RF for educational purposes, the placing LEA must provide or ensure the provision of a FAPE to the student.
    (B) Not later than the third day after the date a person 22 years of age or younger is placed in an RF, the RF must provide notification in accordance with TEC, §29.012(a), as follows:
      (i) if the person placed in the RF is three years of age or older, the RF must notify the LEA in which the RF is located, unless the RF is an open-enrollment charter school or the RF has been designated as an LEA (e.g., TYC correctional facilities, Texas School for the Deaf, the University of Texas Medical Branch); or
      (ii) if the person placed in the RF is younger than three years of age, the RF must notify a local early childhood intervention program in the area in which the RF is located.
  (2) Regulatory and planning functions of the parties are coordinated as follows.
    (A) The parties will require LEAs and RFs to:
      (i) share, within a reasonable period of time and to the extent permitted by applicable statutes and regulations, all appropriate records and relevant information relating to a student with a disability. This subsection does not authorize the LEA to modify requirements for admission and enrollment into an LEA as set forth in TEC, Chapter 25. The records and information to be shared may include, but are not limited to:
        (I) birth certificate or other identifying document that proves the student's age;
        (II) medical history and medical records, including current immunization records and a history of infectious disease (e.g., Hepatitis B, tuberculosis), including a description of any behavioral characteristics related to the transmission of such disease;
        (III) social history;
        (IV) vision and hearing screening and evaluation;
        (V) evaluation reports, including psychological, educational, related service, assistive technology and vocational evaluations, and behavioral assessments;
        (VI) treatment plan of care or service;
        (VII) educational history (e.g., previous educational placement information);
        (VIII) any relevant court orders (e.g., orders related to placement in an RF, guardianship or conservatorship, or court-ordered services);
        (IX) information regarding a student's movement from an RF to a subsequent residence, including but not limited to the date the student left the RF and the location of the student's subsequent residence; and
Cont'd...