DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY

Document items indicate requirements to be documented in the special education process. They can be addressed on forms or by a representative statement in a written dialogue.

Practice items are requirements, which must be reflected in practice.

34 Code of Federal Regulations § 300.304  Evaluation procedures. 

. . . 
(c) Other evaluation procedures. Each public agency must ensure that— 
     . . . 
    (4) The child is assessed in all areas related to the suspected disability, including, if appropriate, health, vision, hearing, social and emotional status, general intelligence, academic performance, communicative status, and motor abilities; 
     . . . 


Last Amended:  71 FR 46785, Aug. 14, 2006
Entered:  June 8, 2009

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(b)  Eligibility determination. The determination of whether a student is eligible for special education and related services is made by the student's admission, review, and dismissal committee. Any evaluation or re-evaluation of a student must be conducted in accordance with 34 CFR, §§300.301-300.306 and 300.122. The multidisciplinary team that collects or reviews evaluation data in connection with the determination of a student's eligibility must include, but is not limited to, the following:
(1)  a licensed specialist in school psychology (LSSP), an educational diagnostician, or other appropriately certified or licensed practitioner with experience and training in the area of the disability; or
(2)  a licensed or certified professional for a specific eligibility category defined in subsection (c) of this section.
. . . 

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5515

Entered: March 24, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1050. The Admission, Review, and Dismissal Committee.

(a)  Each school district must establish an admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee for each eligible student with a disability and for each student for whom a full individual and initial evaluation is conducted pursuant to §89.1011 of this title (relating to Full Individual and Initial Evaluation). The ARD committee is the individualized education program (IEP) team defined in federal law and regulations, including, specifically, 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), §300.321. The school district is responsible for all of the functions for which the IEP team is responsible under federal law and regulations and for which the ARD committee is responsible under state law, including the following: 
. . .  
(5)  34 CFR, §§300.302-300.306 (relating to evaluations, re-evaluations, and determination of eligibility); 
. . . 

Last amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: April 15, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . . 
(c)  Eligibility definitions:
. . .

(13) Developmental delay.  A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

  . . .

Last Amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . .

(13) Developmental delay. A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

. . .

 (A) performance on appropriate norm-referenced measures, including developmental measures, indicate that the student is at least 2 standard deviations below the mean or at the 2nd percentile of performance, when taking into account the standard error of measurement (SEM), in one area of development as listed in this paragraph, along with additional convergent evidence such as interviews and observation data that supports the delay in that area;

. . .

Last amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Date entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . .

(13) Developmental delay. A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

. . .

 (B) performance on appropriate norm-referenced measures, including developmental measures, indicate that the student is at least 1.5 standard deviations below the mean or at the 7th percentile of performance, when taking into account the SEM, in at least two areas of development as listed in this paragraph, along with additional convergent evidence such as interviews and observation data that supports the delays in those areas; or

. . .

Last amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Date entered: February 10, 2025

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . .

(13) Developmental delay. A student with developmental delay is one who is between the ages of 3-9 who is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team for at least one disability category listed in paragraphs (1)-(12) of this subsection and whose evaluation data indicates a need for special education and related services and shows evidence of, but does not clearly confirm, the presence of the suspected disability or disabilities due to the child's young age. In these cases, an ARD committee may determine that data supports identification of developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development. To use this eligibility category, multiple sources of data must converge to indicate the student has a developmental delay as described by one of the following:

. . .

 (C) a body of evidence from multiple direct and indirect sources, such as play-based assessments, information from the student's parent, interviews, observations, work samples, checklists, and other informal and formal measures of development, that clearly document a history and pattern of atypical development that is significantly impeding the student's performance and progress across settings when compared to age-appropriate expectations and developmental milestones in one or more areas of development as listed in this paragraph.

. . .

Last amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Date entered: February 10, 2025