Residential Facilities Monitoring

Framework (What’s Required):

  • The local education educational agency (LEA) in which the residential facility (RF) is located must provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for all students residing in the residential facility, unless the student was placed by another LEA. The local education agencies (LEAs) serving students with disabilities that reside in residential facilities (RFs) located within the LEA’s geographic boundaries and/or jurisdictions are subject to the Residential Facility Monitoring (RFM) system. In accordance with Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §97.1072, the RF monitoring system provides for standards and procedures for data collection and monitoring of the special education programs provided to students with disabilities residing in RFs. The RFM system has been established to improve performance and compliance with federal and state special education requirements for a unique and vulnerable population of students who often have limited access to family members that can advocate for their educational needs. The definition of a RF, for the purposes of the RFM system, is a facility that provides 24-hour custody or care for students who reside in the facility for detention, treatment, foster care, or any non-educational purpose. A RF does not include traditional foster homes licensed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS) as Foster Family Homes (Independent).

     

Persons Responsible:

    • Campus Registrar
    • Special Education Department Chairperson

Timelines:

    • An ARD/IEP meeting should be convened within 30 days upon enrollment of a student coming from a residential facility.

Methods (What We Do):

  • The RF student transfer process will follow the steps outlined in the HISD Students with Disabilities Transfer Procedure document. When a student with disabilities who resides in a residential facility enrolls in a school:

    The campus registrar:

    The Special Education department chairperson:

    • Completes the SharePoint RFM Data Collection and Surrogate Parent Verification Form within the first week of enrollment
    • Contact previous school district(s) to verify special education services for a RF student transferring from within or outside the state
    • Contacts the evaluation team to review evaluation documents
    • Schedules an ARD/IEP meeting within 30 days to either adopt the student’s IEP from the previous school district; or develop, and implement a new IEP

    In consultation with the parent/surrogate parent, FAPE is provided, including services comparable to those described in the student’s IEP from the previous school district. 
    If the parent/surrogate parent reports that the previous IEP was not appropriate; and campus personnel are not going to provide comparable services, an ARD/IEP meeting must be convened as soon as possible to develop an IEP that will be utilized until the 30-day permanent placement ARD/IEP meeting is held. In this situation, the ARD/IEP Committee must provide justification in the IEP why comparable services are not being provided.
    Residential Facility (RF) Tracker
    HISD will use the RF Tracker data collection system to report students with disabilities residing in a RF within its boundaries or jurisdiction. Information entered into the RF Tracker system from the previous year will be rolled over to the current year to provide HISD a starting point for data entry. It is necessary to update existing data to reflect current school year information, and/or add and delete records for additional facilities or RF students that are no longer within HISD’s boundaries or jurisdiction. Verification of information is based on a review of the IEP document from the previous school district or the most current IEP document in EasyIEP, Chancery SMS, and the Surrogate Parent Appointment List.
    Review the RF Monitoring Manual.

     

Forms/Resources:

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