The receipt of special education funds must be contingent upon the operation of an approved comprehensive special education program in accordance with State and federal laws and regulations.
No local educational agency (LEA) may divert special education funds for other purposes, with the exception of administrative costs relating to Maximum Indirect Cost Allowable on Certain Foundation School Program Allotments.
Funds generated by full-time equivalents (FTEs) in one instructional arrangement may be spent on the overall special education program and are not limited to the instructional arrangement which generated the funds.
The State Board of Education (SBOE) by rule will prescribe the qualifications an instructional arrangement must meet in order to be funded as a particular instructional arrangement:
In prescribing the qualifications that a mainstream instructional arrangement must meet, the SBOE will establish requirements that children with disabilities and their teachers receive the direct, indirect, and support services that are necessary to enrich the regular classroom and enable success.
A special education fund balance may be carried over to the next fiscal year, and the balance must be expended on the special education program in the subsequent year.
Each year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) must make and disseminate to each LEA a list of those LEAs that maintain for two successive years a ratio of FTE children placed in partially or totally self-contained classrooms to the number of FTE children placed in resource room or mainstream instructional arrangements that is 25 percent higher than the statewide average ratio.
Persons paid from special education funds must be assigned to instructional or other duties in the special education program and/or to provide support services to the regular education program in order for children with disabilities to be included in the regular program with the following limitations:
Support services must include, but not be limited to, collaborative planning, co-teaching, small group instruction with children in special education and regular education, direct instruction to children in special education, or other support services determined necessary by the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee for an appropriate program for the child with disabilities;
If personnel are assigned to special education on less than a full-time basis, only that portion of time for which the personnel are assigned to children with disabilities may be paid from State special education funds.
State special education funds may be used for special materials, supplies, and equipment which are directly related to the development and implementation of individualized education programs (IEPs) of children and which are not ordinarily purchased for the regular classroom:
State special education funds may be used to contract with consultants to provide staff development, program planning and evaluation, instructional services, assessments, and related services to children with disabilities.
State special education funds may be used to pay staff travel to perform services directly related to the education of eligible children with disabilities:
Funds may also be used to pay travel of staff (including administrators, general education teachers, and special education teachers and service providers) to attend staff development meetings for the purpose of improving performance in assigned positions directly related to the education of eligible children with disabilities; and
The purpose for attending such staff development meetings must not include time spent in performing functions relating to the operation of professional organizations; and
In accordance with federal regulations, funds may also be used to pay for the joint training of parents and special education, related services, and general education personnel.