DEPARTMENT NEWS
The TEA, Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), and Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) are working together to improve early learning opportunities for young children with disabilities. We want to hear from families, early childhood educators, and other professionals who work with or support young children with disabilities or developmental delays. The survey is open through May 3, 2026.
Families play an important role in improving outcomes for children receiving special education services. The Texas Parent Involvement Survey, open through May 22, 2026, is a federally required survey under State Performance Plan Indicator 8 (SPPI 8) and provides selected families an opportunity to share feedback about how their school system supports parent involvement as a means of improving services and results for children with disabilities.
Because the survey is based on a sample, not all school systems participate each year, and not all families within participating school systems will necessarily receive a survey. School professionals in participating school systems should already be aware of their participation status and have received required resources and training for the 2026 survey cycle.
Families selected to participate will receive an invitation through their school system or through Gibson Consulting, the vendor contracted to distribute the survey. School staff who have questions or need additional support should coordinate with their district’s SPPI 8 Parent Involvement Survey contact (typically the director of special education), their School, Family, and Community Engagement (SFCE) contact at their ESC, and/or utilize resources available through the Gibson Consulting portal.
Looking for a practical and flexible way to strengthen your team’s skills in the Standards-Based Individualized Education Program (SB IEP) process? The SB IEP Blended Approach combines self-paced online learning with live extension sessions that bring learning to life through discussion, collaboration, and hands-on application.
Through a partnership with your local Education Service Center (ESC) and the TEA, your local educational agency (LEA) can access facilitator support, planning resources, and ongoing coaching. Extension sessions are held locally and can be offered face to face or virtually. This allows teams to connect learning directly to local procedures and real IEP development.
This training includes:
- Self-paced TEA Learn SB IEP Process Training
- Locally facilitated extension sessions, offered face to face or virtually
- Ongoing coaching and support through your regional ESC
Intended audience: ARD committee members who draft PLAAFPs and goals, recommend SDI, or monitor student progress.
Getting started: Special education leaders attend an ESC-led Interest Meeting. Click the button to find and contact your local ESC SB IEP trainers to learn more.
Connecting behavior to the TEKS just got easier! Introducing the TEKS Behavior Alignment Tool. This comprehensive resource helps educators align student behavior expectations with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) across all grade levels. Spanning early childhood through high school, the tool includes multiple content areas, such as ELA, Health Education, Social Studies, Fine Arts, Physical Education, Science, and Technology Applications, to highlight how academic standards connect to observable social, emotional, and behavioral skills. Organized by developmental progression, the TEKS Behavior Alignment Tool supports instructional planning, classroom management, and systems-level behavior supports.
To further support implementation, the TEKS Behavior Alignment Tool includes three companion guides tailored for Educators, Campus Administrators, and ARD Committees, offering practical guidance for using the tool and developing effective, aligned behavior supports.
TEA’s Offices of School Safety and Security and Special Populations and Student Supports are offering a new statewide training focused on how disabilities, particularly special education services, intersect with Behavioral Threat Assessment (BTA). This no‑cost, interactive session covers key legal considerations, practical decision‑making factors, and scenario‑based exercises to support compliant, effective threat assessment practices. Contact your regional ESC to express interest or for possible session dates and registration details. Additional questions can be directed at SafeSchools@tea.texas.gov.
Every ESC across Texas has TIER certified‑ trainers on staff to support districts with MTSS implementation. ESCs are asked to train educators from at least 20% of the LEAs in their region through participation in ESC offered‑ TIER content training.
We are excited to share that strong progress is being made statewide —to date, 12 of the 20 ESCs have already met or exceeded the 20% training goal.
We would especially like to recognize Region 1 and Region 19, which have not only met this benchmark halfway through the year, but more than doubled it by training educators from over 40% of the districts in their regions.
Congratulations to Region 1 and Region 19 for their exceptional commitment to strengthening MTSS implementation and supporting LEAs across Texas!
To meet the requirement specified by Texas Education Code §29.0112(e)(1), an LEA may post a link on the LEA website directly to the Texas Transition and Employment Guide page on the Texas SPED Support website.
If preferred, the LEA may post links to the individual documents as they are posted on the Texas SPED Support website or upload each PDF to the LEA website. In that case, the Texas Transition and Employment Guide must be available, at a minimum, in both English and Spanish.
The 2024-2026 Innovative Services for Students with Autism Grants were awarded to 10 LEAs across Texas and have directly impacted 32 LEAs due to many grantees collaborating across multiple LEAs. The purpose of this grant is to increase LEA's capacity to implement innovative programs that effectively serve students with autism ages 3-21. This project will result in effective, scalable models that can be replicated in other areas of the state. Read about the impact this grant has had on Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD:
Building Sustainable Excellence: The Impact of the Innovative Services for Students with Autism Grant on Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD (CFBISD)
Thanks to the 2024-2026 Innovative Services grant, CFBISD has implemented the STAR (Strategies for Teaching based on Autism Research) curriculum, fundamentally transforming how the district serves students with autism. It has been instrumental in supporting comprehensive professional development and sustainable practices across the district.
Grant Impact Highlights:
- Comprehensive professional development for educators and administrators in applied behavior analysis (ABA) strategies.
- Coaches providing daily classroom support and implementation fidelity monitoring.
- Improved student outcomes in communication, social skills, and academic achievement.
- Enhanced inclusive classroom environments with specialized supports and modifications.
- Technology-based support system providing teachers with real-time access to resources and coaching.
- Sustainable model established for continued implementation beyond grant funding.
National Transition Specialist Certification Opportunity
The Transition Leadership Program (TLP) at UMass Boston offers a Graduate Certificate in Special Education with a Concentration in Transition Leadership specifically designed for special educators, guidance counselors, and vocational staff. Explore the fact sheet to learn more about this opportunity. The deadline to submit an application for the Fall 2026 cohort is June 15.
Using Diagnostic Data to Intensify Interventions
Do you know what to do when students are not responding to intervention? This webinar provides an overview of the role diagnostic data plays in adjusting instruction and intervention within the data-based individualization (DBI) process. Participants (1) learn five guiding questions to help develop a hypothesis about why a student has not responded to an intervention and (2) preview tools to help gather diagnostic data, confirm hypotheses, and consider adjustments to instruction based on those hypotheses. Learn more at the National Center on Intensive Intervention's website.
OSEP Fast Facts: Children Identified with Specific Learning Disability
Students identified with specific learning disabilities (SLD) make up the largest group of students receiving special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Office of Special Education Program's (OSEP’s) latest Fast Facts show that while identification rates vary across states, national trends show a gradual decline in the percentage of students identified with SLD over time.
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