Private or Home-school Students and Special Education Services

What's Required

Special Education Services for Private or Homeschool Students Who Are Eligible for and in Need of Special Education:

Per 19 TAC §89.1096, Provision of Services for Students Placed by Their Parents in Private Schools or Facilities, the amount and type, if any, of special education and related services made available by your district to students with disabilities placed in private schools or facilities are determined based on ongoing consultation with representatives of the private school and representatives of parentally placed private school students with disabilities and a proportionate share calculation.

Private or Home School Students Aged 3 or 4 Years


If an ARD committee determines that a private or home school student aged 3 or 4 years is eligible for and in need of special education instruction and/or related services, the parent may 1) enroll the student only in the public school, 2) “dual enroll” the student, or 3) decline to have the student enroll in public school.


Private or Home School Students Aged 5 through 21 Years


If an ARD committee determines that a private or home schooled student aged 5 through 21 years is eligible for and in need of special education instruction and related services, the parent may enroll the student full-time in the public school.

If the parent does not do this, your school district must make the special education and related services available as provided for in 19 TAC §89.1096. Since the obligation of your district to provide special education and related services is limited, and any services provided will be under a services plan, not an IEP, these students will not generate ADA. However, students receiving services under a services plan should be entered into the TSDS PEIMS with an ADA eligibility code of 0 - enrolled, not in membership, and counted on the last Friday of October for the fall TSDS PEIMS submission child count snapshot for data reporting purposes.

Reg. § 300.137; § 300.138; § 300.320(a)(l)-(a)(5),(7); § 300.320(b); § 300.321; § 300.322; § 300.323(a)­(d); § 300.324(a)-(c); 19 TAC§ 89.1050; 19 TAC§ 89.1055.

What We Do

Consultation with Representatives of Eligible Private School Children

During the design and development of special education and related services for eligible private school children, Spring Independent School District (Spring ISD) will consult with private school and representatives of parents of eligible private school children.


Spring ISD will consult on the following:

1. Child Find-How children placed by their parents in a private school located in the district who are suspected of having a disability can participate equitably; and how parents, teachers, and private school officials will be informed of the process;

2. Proportionate Share of Funds-What funds are available to provide services to eligible private school students and how the proportionate share was calculated;

3. Consultation Process-How the consultation process will operate throughout the school year to ensure that eligible private school students can meaningfully participate in special education and related services;

4. Provision of Special Education Services-How, where, and by whom special education and related services will be provided to eligible private school students. The consultation will include the types of services, including direct services and alternative mechanisms for the delivery of services; how services will be apportioned if the proportionate share of federal funds is insufficient to serve all eligible private school students; and how and when those decisions will be made.

5. Written Explanation of Services-In consultation, Spring ISD will advise private school officials that if the district disagrees with their views regarding the provision of services or the types of services (whether provided directly or through a contract), the district will provide a written explanation of the reasons why the district chose not to provide the services directly or through a contract.


Service Plan


A services plan will be developed initially, and periodically reviewed and revised, according to the requirements for holding ARD Committee meetings and developing IEPs or individual family service plans (IFSP) for 5-year-old students, to the extent those requirements are appropriate and relevant to the individual services plan. The services plan team includes the same participants as would be included in an ARD Committee for the child.


Service Plan Team Members


  • Parents

  • A representative of the private school

  • One regular education teacher

  • Special education teacher or special education provider of the child

  • Campus Administrator

  • SLP or LSSP

  • At the discretion of the parent or the district, any other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate.


Service Plan Notice

Parents will be notified of a services plan meeting early enough to ensure they will have an opportunity to attend and participate. Notice should be received 5 school days before the meeting or 5 business days before the meeting if the meeting is in the summer.


The services plan meeting can be held without the parent if the parent does not attend after documented efforts to secure the parent's presence through telephone calls made or attempted, correspondence sent to the parents, and/or visits to the home or place of employment and the results of those visits.


Contents of an Individual Services Plan

An individual services plan may provide for direct services to the eligible private school student or for alternate service delivery mechanisms. Goals will be included in the services plan regardless of whether services to the student are direct or indirect. The content of a services plan will vary from student to student. These components will be included only when they are appropriate and relevant to the services provided. A services plan will contain the following components:


  • The identified disability;
  • Present levels of academic achievement and functional performance;
  • Results of the initial or most recent evaluation of the child;
  • Results of the child's performance on any general statewide assessment or standardized group assessment;
  • The parent's concerns for enhancing the child's education;
  • The child's strengths;
  • How the disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the curriculum offered by the private school to nondisabled students, if any;
  • For preschool children, how the disability affects the child's participation in appropriate activities;
  • A statement of measurable goals;
  • A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable to be provided to the child or on behalf of the child;
  • A statement of the program modifications or supports for district staff or private school staff provided for the child to be involved and progress in the curriculum the private school provides to nondisabled students, if any, as well as extracurricular and nonacademic activities of the private school, to advance toward attaining the goals in the services plan and be educated and participate with nondisabled students, if any, at the private school;
  • An explanation of the extent to which the child does not participate in the curriculum, if any, offered by the private school to nondisabled students, if any;
  • The date the services plan will begin and the frequency, location, and duration of the services;
  • A statement of how the child's progress on the services plan will be measured, how the child's parents will regularly be informed as often as the parents of nondisabled students are informed of the progress, and the extent to which it is sufficient to enable the child to achieve the goals in the services plan by the end of the period of services;
  • A statement of transition service needs and a statement of measurable postsecondary goals based on age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment and, where appropriate, independent living skills in the services plan when the student is 14 years old; and
  • If a student is 17 years of age, a statement in the individual services plan that he or she has been advised that upon the student's 18th birthday the rights of his or her parents under IDEA will transfer to the child. 

Special Considerations:


The services plan team may need to consider special factors in certain cases. These factors will be considered only when they are appropriate and relevant to the services to be provided to the eligible private school student.

  • If the behavior of the eligible private school student impedes his or her learning or that of others, consider whether behavior interventions, strategies, and supports should be included in the services plan;
  • If a child has limited English proficiency, consider the language needs of the child as they relate to the services plan;
  • If the child is blind or visually impaired, consider whether instruction in Braille and the use of Braille should be part of the services plan unless an evaluation of the student's reading and writing skills, needs, and appropriate reading and writing media indicate that instruction in Braille and the use of Braille is not appropriate;
  • If the child has communication needs, or the child is deaf or hard of hearing, consider language and communication needs regarding communication with peers and professional personnel, modes of language and communication, academic level, and opportunity for direct instruction in the child's language or communication mode  
  • Consider whether assistive technology devices or services should be included in the services plan.

Location of Services Provided


The services may be provided on-site at the student’s:

  • Private school
  • Home school 
  • Religious school
  • Non-Profit school

Spring ISD may provide the child transportation from the home or private school to the site of the service and from the site of the service to the home or private school, depending on the time of day the service is provided.


Service hours are offered at the end of the student's school day.


Forms