SAN ANTONIO – The school year may have just started, but parents hoping to qualify for higher Texas Education Freedom Accounts funding for a child with special needs next year may need to act soon.
The state’s new TEFA offers students about $10,000 for non-public school education and services. Students with special needs who qualify as priority applicants can receive up to $30,000, but they must have an individualized education program, or IEP, documenting their needs.
That IEP evaluation must be completed through the public school district where the child lives, even if the child does not attend school there.
“School districts are getting a lot of requests for evaluations,” said Inga Cotton, who founded School Discovery Network. “They’re not only serving the students who want to go to private school and receive additional funds, but they’re also serving all the students who live in their district.”
School Discovery Network is an education resource that helps parents choose the best school for their child. With so many parent questions about TEFA, Cotton has become somewhat of an expert.
Cotton said the official TEFA application period has not been released, but she expects it to follow last year’s timeline, running from January to March.
That timing matters because families without a completed IEP by the application deadline may qualify only for the basic amount, not the higher special needs funding.
In a previous KSAT story, Cotton said many parents were going to miss the TEFA deadline because IEPs were taking a long time.
“One thing that people got caught off guard was if they didn’t have their IEP completed by the deadline, they couldn’t qualify for any more than the basic $10,500 amount,” Cotton said.
She recommends parents request an IEP assessment by October to give school district staff enough time to complete the process before applications open.
“There’s all these waiting periods that happen and those are by law, so you can’t rush it,” Cotton said. ”So the parent requests in writing, and then the school district has a period of time to respond to that request, and then there’s a period where they’re observing the student and gathering data. Then there’s another period of time to have the ARD (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) meeting.”
Cotton said parents can request an evaluation by contacting the special education coordinator in their district or an administrator, such as a principal. She said email is a good way to make the request so everything is time-stamped and in writing.
She also had tips on what to say in those conversations and what not to say.
“We don’t recommend that you say, ‘Oh, I need a diagnosis of dyslexia or autism.’ Instead, describe like, ‘Hey, I tried to read with my child, and they’re not understanding the words.’ Or, ‘I tried (to) make eye contact with my children, and they won’t look back at me.’ Or, ‘they’re playing with other kids the way I would expect them to,’” Cotton said. “Describe what you’re noticing is making you worried and then let the experts do their set of assessments.”
If a private counselor or provider has already diagnosed a child, parents should include that information when contacting the district. However, Cotton said a private diagnosis does not count for TEFA purposes without the public school district evaluation and IEP process.
IEPs can be used for children as young as 3.
Families who already have an IEP should check the date, because an IEP is good for three years and may not need to be redone unless it has expired.
Parents interested in applying for TEFA funds should contact their local school district soon and watch for the state to release the next application timeline.
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