DEPARTMENT NEWS
Are you a special education director looking to strengthen your team's skills in developing compliant, high-quality present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP) statements, annual goals, and effective data collection practices? Consider partnering with your local ESC and the TEA to participate in the Standards-Based Individualized Education Program (SB IEP) Blended Approach training. This engaging model combines the flexibility of the TEALearn asynchronous SB IEP course with local, facilitated extension sessions designed to support implementation in your LEA.
Through the Blended Approach, teams engage in extension activities that move learning beyond the online course, including:
- Connecting SB IEP concepts to local practices and procedures
- Reviewing and reinforcing key concepts
- Practicing skills through guided activities
- Participating in facilitated discussions with colleagues, LEA leadership and ESC trainers and coaches
The SB IEP Blended Approach is delivered within your LEA through a consultation or partnership model with your local ESC, providing personalized support for your team's growth and implementation efforts.
Interested in learning more? Complete the interest form, and your local ESC SB IEP Blended Approach contact will reach out with additional information about this opportunity.
Invest in stronger IEP development practices and build capacity across your team through the SB IEP Blended Approach.
The deadline for the Special Education Data System (SPEDS) Summer Submission is quickly approaching. All State Performance Plan Indicator (SPPI) data must be submitted through the Texas Student Data System (TSDS) SPEDS Summer Submission and be in "Complete" status by July 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
Who Must Submit?
This requirement applies to all LEAs, including those that were not required to submit data in previous collections (e.g., the SPP TEAL application or TSDS Child Find Collection) because they did not serve the applicable student population or had no students who met the collection criteria.
All LEAs must either:
- Submit student-level data for all eligible students; or
- Report that no students met the reporting criteria using the designated data elements.
If No Students Meet the Reporting Criteria
If no students meet the reporting criteria for an indicator, the LEA must report “TRUE” for the applicable data element:
If Submitting Student-Level Data
LEAs that are reporting student-level records for an indicator must report “FALSE” for the corresponding data element listed above.
Continue Monitoring Data After Submission
If a submission is completed before the deadline, LEAs remain responsible for monitoring their data and updating and resubmitting records if additional students subsequently meet the reporting criteria.
Resources:
Need Help?
For assistance with the SPEDS Summer Submission, LEAs should contact their regional education service center TSDS SPEDS Summer Champion (ESCs 1–10 and ESCs 11–20). For technical assistance or submission issues, please submit a ticket through the TSDS Incident Management System (TIMS).
TEA has released an updated IDEA Part C to Part B Flowchart to support LEAs in navigating the transition of children from Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services to Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). This visual resource highlights how special education timelines may vary based on a child’s ECI service history, helping teams ensure timely and compliant transitions.
Exciting updates are coming to the SB IEP Process Training for the 2026–2027 school year! In response to recent amendments to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §89.1050 and §89.1055 that are expected to go into effect in August 2026, the training has been redesigned to provide more focused learning opportunities and greater flexibility for educators.
Introducing the NEW SB IEP Process Training Course Series
Launching this fall, the updated asynchronous training series includes four standalone courses designed to strengthen understanding and application of key components of the SB IEP process:
- Course 1: Foundational Concepts and Student Data
- Course 2: Developing the Present Levels of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP)
- Course 3: Drafting Measurable Annual Academic and Functional Goals
- Course 4: Determining Specially Designed Instruction (SDI) and Data Collection for Progress Monitoring
Designed for New and Returning Learners
For those new to the SB IEP process, it is highly recommended that courses be completed in sequence. The series builds a comprehensive understanding of how critical components—including alignment to grade-level curriculum, student data collection, PLAAFP development, measurable annual goals, SDI determination, and progress-monitoring systems—work together to support high-quality IEP development.
For educators who have previously completed SB IEP Process Training, these updated courses offer an opportunity to revisit key concepts, strengthen skills, engage in targeted practice, and deepen understanding in specific areas of the process.
Whether you're learning the process for the first time or refreshing your expertise, the new SB IEP Process Training Course Series provides practical, focused support for continued professional growth and improved student outcomes.
The updated SB IEP Process Training will continue to be offered face-to-face or virtually through your local ESC.
Connecting behavior to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) just got easier! Introducing the TEKS Behavior Alignment Tool. This comprehensive resource helps educators align student behavior expectations with the 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.
ESC Region 17 held a "Job Olympics" to promote connection to competitive, integrated employment for students with complex needs. The Olympic "events" were stations with job activities, such typing, filing, sorting, handling money, or practicing interviews. Teachers were given detailed instructions and rubrics on each of the events to help prepare their students. They were provided with coaching on how to guide students to demonstrate the skills. 185 volunteers supported the Job Olympics, including staff and students from Texas Tech University Occupational Therapy (OT), Nursing school, Clinical Counseling, College of Education.
151 students attended the event, with no more than 15 students from a campus to ensure that registration was available for schools with small enrollment. 90 peer pals attended to support participation in the events. Feedback from the Job Olympics has been overwhelmingly positive. Teachers are implementing the Job Olympic rubrics into their lesson plans for the upcoming school year, and ESC Region 17 is already planning for Job Olympics 2026!
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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for ensuring that all learners can access and participate in the general education classroom. UDL guidelines provide concrete suggestions for engaging students, presenting information in different ways, and offering students various ways to demonstrate their learning. These suggestions can be applied to any discipline or domain. Visit the Universal Design for Learning Series Collection on Texas SPED Support to see the variety of resources available to all stakeholders, including the TEA UDL website, asynchronous and synchronous course offerings, an implementation guide, and ESC coaching opportunities.
Don’t wait until day one—ensure your campuses are ready to support immediate reading progress and eliminate literacy barriers right now by accessing grade-level content with the TEA-funded Learning Ally Audiobook Solution!
Use these essential, targeted steps to ensure a powerful kickoff across your district:
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District Administrators: Identify educator groups needing training and name campus-based Learning Ally advocates. Schedule initial, refresher, or next-level instructional strategy sessions to promote classroom integration.
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Campus Administrators: Partner with your campus advocate to ensure educators can assign high-quality instructional materials. Schedule training for general education teachers with your Learning Ally Account Manager, and plan parent communications to support reading campus-wide.
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Teachers: Provide access to eligible students. Load bookshelves with state-adopted curriculum, literary texts, and popular self-selected titles, and share home-reading strategies with parents.
Plus, keep students motivated all year long with nationwide reading challenges like the upcoming Race to Read starting August 31st!
Need assistance or implementation support? Find contact information for your region's dedicated Learning Ally Account Manager on our Learning Ally Texas Page.
New to Learning Ally and need an account? Get started by enrolling for your free account through the Educator Access Form.
Each year the TEA invites groups of Texas educators to provide feedback on the development of state assessments (STAAR, STAAR Alternate 2, and TELPAS) through educator committees across all assessed grades and content areas. Developing high-quality, aligned questions relies on the expertise and experience of Texas educators. Participants collaborate with other educators from across the state to review and approve each potential question for state assessments. TEA is currently accepting applications from all districts to participate in item review committees all subjects and grade levels.
If you know of any educators (including yourself!) who might be interested in participating in these review meetings, please encourage them to apply using the link below. Meetings are typically held during the spring and summer. If selected, an invite will be sent with all the logistical information.
The commitment is generally two to three days in Austin with all travel, accommodations, and substitute coverage paid for by TEA. In addition, all participants will receive a $200 daily stipend for each day of participation and earn Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Professional Learning Opportunity: Middle School Interventions
The Providing Reading Interventions to Students in Middle School (PRISMS) Toolkit, is a research-based resource designed to strengthen middle school literacy. Developed by REL Southwest and grounded in the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Practice Guide: Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4-9, the PRISMS Toolkit offers actionable, evidence-based guidance to support effective and sustainable middle school reading intervention.
The PRISMS Toolkit includes:
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Implementation tools to help districts assess existing reading interventions and align instruction with evidence-based practices.
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Online professional learning modulesthat build educator knowledge and model evidence-based instructional practices for reading interventions in middle school.
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Professional learning community resourcesthat foster collaboration between teachers, deepen understanding, and support sustained implementation overtime.
REL Southwest is offering two professional learning opportunities for Texas educators, education service center (ESC) experts, district coaches, and literacy staff to learn more about the PRISMS toolkit. During these sessions, REL Southwest will provide an overview of the PRISMS Toolkit, and introduce how PRISMS-aligned supports can strengthen middle school literacy instruction.
All sessions are free to attend. To register for a session, sign up here.
Autism (Part 1):An Overview for Educators
This module, developed by the IRIS Center, is the first in a two-part series and provides an overview of autism alongside information about school services and supports. It explores the difference between a medical diagnosis and an educational determination, outlines the role of the multidisciplinary team, and offers guidance on family engagement. Additionally, it reviews important considerations for both the learning environment and instructional practices for students with autism (est. completion time: 2 hours).
Early Childhood Behavior Management
This module, also developed by the IRIS Center, includes information on how to create developmentally appropriate behavior rules for early childhood classrooms so that they link to a given school's behavior expectations. The importance of communication with families about rules and expected behaviors is also stressed (est. completion time: 2 hours).
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