NONCATEGORICAL EARLY CHILDHOOD

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.

19 Texas Administrative Code § 89.1040. Eligibility Criteria.

. . .

(d) Developmental delay eligibility guidelines. Developmental delay, as described in subsection (c)(13) of this section, and noncategorical, as described in subsection (c)(14) of this section, may be used within the following guidelines.

. . .

(3) The eligibility category of noncategorical, as described in subsection (c)(14) of this section, must no longer be used by any school district beginning with the 2025-2026 school year. Any eligible student who begins the 2025-2026 school year already identified under subsection (c)(14) of this section may maintain this eligibility category, if determined appropriate by the student's ARD committee, until the required re-evaluation before the age of six.

Last amended: July 30, 2024, 49 TexReg 5507

Entered: February 27, 2025

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