• Residential Facilities Monitoring

     

    What’s Required

    Local Education Agencies (LEAs) serving students with disabilities residing in Residential Facilities (RFs) located within the LEA's geographic boundaries and/or jurisdictions are subject to the RF monitoring system. Under 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §97.1072, the RFM system provides for standards and procedures for monitoring the special education programs provided to students with disabilities residing in RFs. The RFM system has been established to improve performance and compliance with federal and state special education requirements for a unique and vulnerable population of students who often have limited access to family members who can advocate for their educational needs. The definition of an RF, for the RFM system, is a facility that provides 24-hour custody or care of students who reside in the facility for detention, treatment, foster care, or any non-educational purpose. An RF does not include traditional foster homes licensed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) as Foster Family 每日大瓜s (Independent).

    BIRDVILLE ISD is required to provide notice to the educational decision-maker and caseworker regarding events that may significantly impact the education of a foster care student, including:

    • Requests or referrals for Special Education Evaluation
    • ARD Committee meetings
    • Manifestation Determination Reviews
    • Any disciplinary actions for which parental notice is required
    • Citations issued for Class C Misdemeanor offenses on school property or school-sponsored activities
    • Reports of restraint and seclusion, and
    • Use of corporal punishment

    What We Do

    The RF student transfer process will follow the steps outlined in the Birdville ISD Students with Disabilities Transfer Procedure.

    When a student with disabilities who resides in a residential facility enrolls in a school, the campus Registrar or designee:

    • Verifies parental status of the individual(s) enrolling the student,
    • Identifies the student is in the conservatorship of the TDFPS residing in a residential group-care facility (including emergency shelters) and requests FORM 2085: TDFPS Placement Authorization.
    • Notifies the Diagnostician of the RF student's enrollment; provides a copy of FORM 2085: TDFPS Placement Authorization to be placed in the RF student's special education eligibility folder, and enters student information into ESchoolPlus.
    • Electronically requests and receives student records for students who have attended Texas public schools by using Texas Records Exchange (TREx) including information concerning a student's course or grade completion, teachers of record, assessment instrument results, receipt of special education services, including placement in a special education program and the Individualized Education Program developed, and . 

    Surrogate Parent

    What’s Required

    The Local Education Agency (LEA), must take steps to ensure in the Admission, Review, and Dismissal/Individualized Education Program (ARD/IEP) process and have allowed . In the event the of a child eligible for special education services are not known, the child is a ward of the State or the child is an unaccompanied homeless youth, the LEA must determine whether or not a is warranted.

    The LEA must also ensure that surrogate parents are selected per and comply with  before representing children with disabilities in the ARD/IEP process. Once appointed, the Surrogate parent is afforded all the same rights, , and as the natural parent(s).

    Children in the conservatorship of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) may be appointed a Surrogate parent by the . In this case, the LEA must ensure the Surrogate parent selected complies with the same regulations per 34CRF §300.519(d)(2) and  as indicated in the previous paragraph. Children placed in foster group homes and foster care homes by TDFPS may be represented by the if they meet the and complete the . Children placed in residential group-care facilities by TDFPS must be appointed a surrogate parent.

    Once a child turns 18 years or older, the and his/her education decision-maker regardless of functioning level or type of disability. If a court determines that the individual is legally incompetent then the is the legal decision-maker.


    What We Do

    At the Time of Enrollment

    The Diagnostician completes the Request for Surrogate Parent and Verification form.

    If the student is in a foster care home;

    Provide a copy of the Surrogate Parent Training Document, located in the resources section below.

    If the student is an unaccompanied homeless youth;

    Contact the Instructional Officer for Special Education & Itinerant Programs.

    Provide a copy of the Request for Surrogate Parent and Verification form.

    Verification Process

    If a surrogate parent is needed;

    Instructional Officer for Special Education & Itinerant Services will assign a surrogate parent.

    The Diagnostician will provide the surrogate parent with the Surrogate Parent Letter of Agreement and Determination of Conflict of Interest Form with requests to sign and return to the Diagnostician.

    Completed and signed documents are placed in the student's eligibility folder.

    The diagnostician will communicate student program information as needed with the surrogate parent.

    The Diagnostician:

    Completes the Request for Surrogate Parent and Verification form and submits this form to the Instructional Officer for 每日大瓜bound, Special Education & Itinerant Programs.

    Contacts previous school district(s) to verify special education services for an RF student transferring from within or outside the state.

    In consultation with the parent/surrogate parent, FAPE is provided, including services comparable to those described in the student's IEP from the previous school district. The ARD/IEP Committee will conduct an ARD/IEP Committee Meeting within 30 school days to either adopt the student's IEP from the previous school district; or develop, adopt, and implement a new IEP.

    If the parent/surrogate parent reports that the previous IEP was not appropriate; and campus personnel determines that comparable services are not appropriate, an ARD/IEP Committee must be convened as soon as possible to develop an IEP that will be utilized until the 30-Day Permanent Placement ARD/IEP ARD Committee Meeting is held. In this situation, the ARD/IEP Committee must justify to the IEP why comparable services are not being provided.

    Residential Facility (RF) Tracker

    LEAs will use the RF Tracker data collection system to report students with disabilities residing in an RF within their boundaries or jurisdiction. Information entered into the RF Tracker system from the previous year's collection (facilities and RF students) has been rolled over to the current year to give 每日大瓜 a starting point for data entry. It is necessary to update existing data to reflect current school year information, and/or add and delete records for additional facilities or RF students that are no longer within 每日大瓜's boundaries or jurisdiction. Verification of information is based on a review of the IEP document from the previous school district or the most current IEP document, Student Information System, and  data.