The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to  eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. To learn more about the 13 disability categories, visit the SPEDTex website.

Special education means instruction that is specially designed to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability. It includes any related services like transportation, occupational or physical therapy, or assistive technology, needed for the student to benefit from his or her special education services. Special education is not a place, but a set of services and supports that can be provided in many ways and in many different settings. What special education looks like for an individual student is outlined in his or her IEP (Individualized Education Program).  The IEP is developed by a team referred to in Texas as the admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee.  The parent is a member of the ARD committee.

Download the PDF file: Overview of Special Education for Parents (English | Spanish)

What are Compensatory Services? Compensatory services are used to help students make up for progress or skills they lost when their special education services were not provided. This includes situations where a child does not get special education services because he or she was denied a timely initial evaluation, but later found eligible. If an initial evaluation was denied when it should not have been, compensatory services may be needed to make up for the delay in your child getting special education services. 

Who Decides if Compensatory Services are Needed? Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committees decide if compensatory services are needed and what those services will be. Parents and guardians are members of the ARD committee. Your participation is very important.

How Do I Request Compensatory Services for My Child? Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committees decide if compensatory services are needed and what those services will be. Parents and guardians are members of the ARD committee. Your participation is very important. 

• Resources: English, Spanish

Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) services are specialized special education supports designed for eligible students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Through individualized instruction, family collaboration, and access to communication options such as spoken language and sign language support, DHH services help students develop speech, language, listening, academic, and social skills. Services may include itinerant teaching, classroom support, self-contained instruction, assistive technology, and consultation services tailored to each student’s unique educational needs.

Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) are special education services for any eligible child with an identified need who is between the ages of 3, 4, and 5. ECSE services can also be provided in a variety of settings such as a pre-kindergarten classroom, in the home, or in community settings such as Head Start and pre-school. The overall goal of ECSE is to foster developmental and academic readiness, support the child’s social-emotional growth and promote successful transition to kindergarten and beyond.

Inclusion services provide students with interventions, accommodations, and modifications to enable students with disabilities to access learning within general education as outlined in the Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Life Skills are specialized special education services that support students with the most complex learning needs. Services prepare students to live, work and enjoy life in their community. Students accessing Life Skills services typically have a significant gap between their enrolled grade level and their academic and adaptive functioning. Additionally students receive specialized instruction to support communication, self-regulation, self-care, and/or to increase their ability to function independently at school, home and in the community as outlined in the IEP.

Resource services provide students with direct, specialized instruction to support learning acceleration and remediation within specific academic areas and are provided outside of general education that address specific academic needs as outlined in the IEP. This includes direct dyslexia instruction delivered by a provider of dyslexia instruction.

Rosedale School serves students who have significant cognitive disabilities, including children who are medically fragile or who need intensive behavioral support. Rosedale offers a caring, family-focused community to support students' unique learning needs in a highly-specialized environment.

Social behavior skills (SBS) services provide students instruction in social and coping skills and responsible decision making and support students with significant social, emotional or behavioral disabilities. Through the use of an evidence-based social skills curriculum designed to help students develop self awareness, self-management, social awareness and responsible decision making skills that address specific academic needs as outlined in the IEP.

Social communication skills services (SCORES) provide students instruction in building social communication and interpersonal skills. The delivery of these services may focus on building skills in perspective taking, initiating and engaging in interpersonal relationships, self-regulation, and self-management skills as outlined in the IEP.

Transition services are activities and supports that help students with disabilities, receiving special education services, access opportunities in independent living, education and training, employment, and recreation and leisure. In the state of Texas, these services start no later than the age of 14, and are updated annually. Austin Independent School District highly recommends beginning planning as soon as a student starts receiving special education services. Regardless of a student’s disability, transition planning is necessary to prepare students for life after Austin ISD. Transition services and activities take the student’s strengths, preferences, interests, and needs into consideration to prepare them for adulthood. 

Visit the Transition Services website >

Visual Impairment (VI) services are specialized special education supports designed for eligible students who are visually impaired. Through individualized instruction, family collaboration, and access to instruction tied to the Expanded Core Curriculum, VI services help students develop academic, social, sensory, and living skills. Services may include itinerant teaching, classroom support, assistive technology, consultation services and instruction tied to the Expanded Core Curriculum tailored to each student’s unique educational needs.