Special Education Day and Residential Programs

Special Education Day and Residential Program Office Hours

The TEA Special Education Day and Residential Programs team is offering a series of optional office hours sessions on Thursday mornings and afternoons throughout fall 2026, focused on day and residential program rule changes and requirements effective October 4, 2026. All sessions are accessible via Zoom. See below for session times, topics, and intended audience.

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Date	Time	Topic	Description	Audience
10/22	8-9 a.m.	Day and Residential Placements 101	Placement decision-making, FAPE, LRE, ARD requirements, provider participation, reintegration planning	LEAs Only
10/22	4-5 p.m.	District-operated special programs: Report Only, or No Report?	Program applicability, district-operated programs, ESC programs, SSAs, exclusions	LEAs Only
10/29	8-9 a.m.	Completing the APEX Application	Student reporting, required documentation, contracts, amendments, annual submissions, timelines	LEAs Only
10/29	4-5 p.m.	Public-Private Partnerships: Roles and Responsibilities	Governance, program administration, approval pathways, contracts, accountability, oversight	LEAs, ESCs, and Providers
11/5	8-9 a.m.	Provider Approval and January 1 Readiness	Approval process, minimum standards, implementation expectations, readiness planning	Current and Prospective Providers
11/5	4-5 p.m.	Monitoring, Incidents, and Corrective Actions	School system oversight, incident reporting, corrective actions, approval statuses, compliance reviews	LEAs, ESCs, and Providers
11/12	8-9 a.m.	Provider Operations: Records, Surveillance, and Student Safety	Records management, FERPA, surveillance, annual attestations, program changes, student safety systems	LEAs and Providers
11/12	4-5 p.m.	Contracts and Funding	Contract requirements, reimbursement, tuition and fees, funding considerations	LEAs and Providers
11/19	8-9 a.m.	District-operated special programs: Report Only, or No Report? (Repeat)	Placement decision-making, FAPE, LRE, ARD requirements, provider participation, reintegration planning	LEAs Only
11/19	4-5 p.m.	Day and Residential Placements 101 (Repeat)	Program applicability, district-operated programs, ESC programs, SSAs, exclusions	LEAs Only
12/3	8-9 a.m.	Public-Private Partnerships: Roles and Responsibilities (Repeat)	Student reporting, required documentation, contracts, amendments, annual submissions, timelines	LEAs Only
12/3	4-5 p.m.	Completing the APEX Application (Repeat)	Governance, program administration, approval pathways, contracts, accountability, oversight	LEAs, ESCs, and Providers
12/10	8-9 a.m.	Contracts and Funding (Repeat)	Contract requirements, reimbursement, tuition and fees, funding considerations	LEAs and Providers
12/10	4-5 p.m.	Provider Operations: Records, Surveillance, and Student Safety (Repeat)	Records management, FERPA, surveillance, annual attestations, program changes, student safety systems	LEAs and Providers
12/17	8-9 a.m.	Monitoring, Incidents, and Corrective Actions (Repeat)	School system oversight, incident reporting, corrective actions, approval statuses, compliance reviews	LEAs, ESCs, and Providers
12/17	4-5 p.m.	Provider Approval and January 1 Readiness (Repeat)	Approval process, minimum standards, implementation expectations, readiness planning	Current and Prospective Providers

Special Education Day and Residential Program Provider Interest Form

TEA now allows Special Education Day and Residential providers to apply to be an approved provider without waiting for a district or charter contract.

Interested programs are invited to complete this brief interest form to provide information about their services, capacity, and qualifications, and to request guidance regarding the approval process.

Program Guidance

Minimum Standards and Conditions for TEA Consideration to Operate as a Day or Residential Placement Program

Special Education Day and Residential Programs Comprehensive Manual for Providers and School Systems

Webinars and Trainings

9.23.26 Special Education Day and Residential Programs Workshop slides

9.15.2026 Special Education Day and Residential Placement Programs Updates Including Noneducational Community-Based Supports Updates

APEX Application

APEX User Manual
APEX Quick Start
APEX How-To
APEX Application Checklist
Sample Cost Analysis
TEAL Access

Day and Residential Funding

Notification Requirements

Funding Explanations

Day
Residential

Residential Reimbursement

Reimbursement Guidelines
Viewing Reimbursement

Day and Residential Programs

Approved Day/Residential Program List
HHSC Residential Search

Day and Residential Monitoring

26-27 LEA Assurance Checklist for Contracting with Day/Residential Placement Programs
Student Folder Review
Teacher Cert Verification

Reintegration Planning

Recommended Plan

Reintegration Planning Guidance

Video with Captions | PDF Version
Reintegration Guidance

Day Placement Program Cooperative Funding Allotment

Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, House Bill 2 (HB 2), passed by the 89th Texas Legislature, authorized TEA to award funds to qualifying day placement programs. The 2026 application closed on 6/26/2026.

Day Placement Program Cooperative Funding Allotment Application Instructions (PDF)

Day Placement Program Cooperative Funding Allotment Application Rubric

Minimum Standards and Conditions for TEA Consideration to Operate as a Day or Residential Placement Program

Day Placement Program Cooperative Funding Allotment Guidelines

Day Placement Program Cooperative Funding Allotment - May 2026 TEA Special Education Webinar

Special Education Day and Residential Programs

Contact Information

Announcements and Updates - Click "View More" to See All Recent Announcements (4)

Updated: Day and Residential Mandatory Reporting & APEX Submissions

APEX Application Checklist