Free Texas IEP ARD Process Roadmap: Timelines & Parent Rights

Texas doesn't run its special education process the way most other states do — and it doesn't even use the same vocabulary. There's no "IEP team," there's an ARD committee (Admission, Review, and Dismissal). There's no generic "evaluation report," there's an FIIE (Full Individual and Initial Evaluation). And the timeline from referral to an initial placement decision runs through four separate deadlines, not one or two. This free 10-page roadmap lays out the entire Texas ARD process, referral to dispute resolution, with every deadline verified directly against the Texas Administrative Code.

Why This Exists

Most "IEP process" guides are written for a generic audience and quietly assume every state uses the same clock. Texas doesn't. A referral gets a 15-school-day response, consent starts a 45-school-day evaluation window, the finished FIIE report has to reach the parent at least 5 school days before the ARD meets, and the ARD then has 30 calendar days from the report's completion to decide eligibility, the IEP, and placement. Every one of those numbers — and every other deadline in this roadmap — was checked directly against the primary text of 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter AA (the Commissioner's Rules Concerning Special Education Services) rather than paraphrased from a secondary summary.

What's Inside the Free Roadmap

• Texas IEP Timelines at a Glance — a 14-row table covering the referral response, FIIE consent-to-completion window, psychological exam consent, FIIE report delivery, the 30-day ARD decision, initial-services consent, transition planning, the two-part age-18 rights-transfer notice, annual review, reevaluation, manifestation determination, state complaints, and SOAH due process — each cited to its exact 19 TAC rule, Texas Education Code section, or federal regulation.
• A 9-step roadmap, split across two pages, walking from Child Find & Referral through Transition Planning & Age 18, each step tagged with its deadline and citation.
• A callout explaining HB 3928 — Texas's 2023 law requiring dyslexia to be evaluated and, where eligible, served as a Specific Learning Disability under IDEA rather than only through a Section 504 plan.
• A parent & teacher checklist with a date line for every step, organized into Before the Evaluation, Eligibility/IEP/Placement, During the Year, and Every Year/Every 3 Years/Key Ages.
• An ARD meeting prep page — a fill-in worksheet for strengths, concerns, questions for the committee, and goals for the year, plus a "bring with you" list.
• A rights and dispute-resolution reference covering Prior Written Notice, consent, independent evaluations, mediation, state complaints, SOAH due process hearings, and stay-put — each explained in plain language and cited.
• A glossary of every acronym you'll hear in an ARD meeting: IDEA, FAPE, LRE, ARD Committee, FIIE, TEA, STAAR/STAAR Alternate 2, SOAH, TEC, and the Endrew F. Supreme Court standard.

Who It's For

Texas parents preparing for a first ARD meeting, an annual review, or a reevaluation; special education teachers and case managers who want a reference to hand to families; general education teachers who need a fast primer on what an IEP requires of them; and advocates who want a plain-language explainer to point families toward before a meeting.

Get the Free Roadmap

Download the complete 10-page Texas IEP ARD Process Roadmap — no cost, just the deadlines and citations you actually need.

Get the Free Texas IEP ARD Process Roadmap on Teachers Pay Teachers →

This resource is general information about the Texas special education process, not legal advice. Laws and state rules change — confirm current requirements with the Texas Education Agency, Partners Resource Network, or a qualified professional.