Special Education in Residential Facilities

The RFT is used to collect data for students with disabilities who reside in residential care and treatment facilities within the geographic boundaries or jurisdiction of a local education agency (LEA). This data is used to inform stakeholders, such as educators, parents, and legislators, about the effectiveness of educational programs and student outcomes for students residing in residential facilities in accordance with Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §97.1072. RFT data is also used to support improved student performance and LEA 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.

School districts and charter schools are subject to residential facilities monitoring if they serve students with disabilities who reside in residential facilities (RFs) within their geographic boundaries or jurisdiction. For reporting and monitoring purposes, an RF is considered a facility that provides 24-hour custody or care of students with disabilities 22 years of age or younger 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 as Foster Family Homes (Independent).

The results of TEA’s annual data analysis determine the extent of intervention activities in which an RF district must engage and the related level of TEA involvement. Monitoring activities focus on data analysis by RF districts and the TEA to determine and address causal factors for program ineffectiveness or noncompliance. The agency may conduct on-site visits to review a broad array of program effectiveness and compliance issues. The result of all monitoring activities result in the development and implementation of any identified support needs, improvement plan, and plan for corrective actions, if needed.

Refer to the Texas Education Data Standards for specific RF Tracker data submission timelines.

Access the links below for additional guidance.

• Residential Facility Tracker PPT 2019-2020 
• To the Administrator Addressed (TAA) 

RF Monitoring Stakeholder Committee Meeting

 As an adopted recommendation of the Rider 70 report, the TEA conducted a series of three stakeholder meetings focused on RF Monitoring. For more information about those meetings view the RF Monitoring Workgroup webpage.