Voucher Guidance Has Answers, More Questions
The TAA explains that eligible students with disabilities who participate in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program may have an “EFA IEP,” which is not the same as an IEP under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The draft rule text provides insight into the components of the EFA IEP, which appear to be selectively plucked from the concept of an IDEA-IEP as the only pieces necessary for TEA to calculate an EFA amount up to $30,000 for a child with a disability. For public school students who already have a current IEP, TEA may use existing funding information to calculate an EFA amount.
According to the information released by TEA, it appears that a child must be deemed eligible for special education through IDEA evaluation and eligibility processes and have their parent state intent to access the TEFA program, before a district would create an EFA IEP for the child.
TCASE is strongly advising all special education directors to seek legal counsel on ensuring compliance with IDEA throughout this process. TCASE will also look for ways to provide members more general legal analysis on these issues.
To make matters more confusing, on November 25, the Texas Comptroller’s office released final rules for the TEFA program that define a “child with a disability” as a child who has a disability but who is not necessarily eligible for special education in a public school. However, this definition only stands for purposes of priority within the lottery for receiving an EFA.
If a family receives a “slot” in the TEFA program under a disability eligibility that is not formally tied to a need for special education, it might cause issues when that family realizes they are not eligible for increased EFA funding.
TCASE testified this fall that two operating definitions of what it means to have a disability in education are confusing for families and schools and are inconsistent with SB 2. The comptroller’s office disagreed and ultimately adopted a rule that allows families to submit to the comptroller an attestation signed by “one or more licensed professionals” that their child has a disability.
Furthermore, the comptroller added to the rule that families can submit an IEP from another state or a full individual and initial evaluation as proof that their child has a disability. In addition to these options, families can submit proof that their child is eligible to participate in a school district’s special education program.
The initial application period for families for the TEFA program is expected to open in early 2026. Final adoption of the comptroller’s rules paves the way for private schools and vendors to begin applying as approved providers in the program.
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TEA Requests Waiver of Some Federal Rules
TEA’s request centers on two provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that require states to measure the participation of at least 95 percent of students in statewide assessments and to track four-year adjusted cohort graduation rates. The agency is asking federal officials to exclude special campuses from both calculations beginning in the 2025–26 school year and continuing through 2028–29.