How to Get an IEP in Texas: Your Guide to the ARD Meeting

If your child needs more support at school than they're getting, the next step is to ask for an evaluation in writing. You already know your child qualifies for an Individualized Education Program (IEP). What you need now is the actual path to get one in Texas, including the ARD meeting that trips up so many parents. Here's how it works.

Start by putting your request in writing. Send a short letter or email to your child's school principal and the district's special education director, and ask the school to evaluate your child for special education services. If you're not sure which district your child attends, you can look it up at txschools.gov. Keep a copy of what you send, and write down the date you sent it. That date matters, because it starts the clock.

Once you sign consent for the evaluation, the school in Texas has 45 school days to finish it. School days don't count weekends, holidays, or breaks, so 45 school days can stretch across a couple of months on the calendar. The evaluation has a formal name: a Full and Individual Evaluation (FIE). It looks at your child across the board, including how they think and learn, where they are academically, how they behave, and how they're doing socially and emotionally. The school pays for it. It costs you nothing.

Then comes the part with the confusing name. In Texas, the meeting where the school reviews your child's evaluation is called an ARD meeting. ARD stands for Admission, Review, and Dismissal. Most other states call this the IEP team meeting, so if you've read advice online that mentions an "IEP meeting," that's the same thing Texas calls an ARD. The name sounds clinical, but the meeting itself is just a group of people sitting down to talk about your child.

At the ARD meeting, the team reviews the evaluation results together and decides whether your child qualifies for special education. The team includes you, your child's teachers, any specialists who tested your child, and a school administrator. If the team agrees your child qualifies, they build the IEP right there in the meeting. The IEP is the written plan that spells out the support, services, and goals your child will get.

Here's the part worth holding onto: you are a full member of the ARD team. Not a guest, not an observer. Your input counts the same as everyone else's at that table. You know things about your child that no test will ever pick up, and the team needs that.

You also don't have to sign anything at the meeting if you're not ready. If the plan doesn't sit right, or you just want time to read it carefully at home, you can say so. You have the right to take the document, review it, and come back. A good advocate will tell you this before you walk in, because a lot of parents feel pressure to sign on the spot and don't realize they have a choice.

So what happens if you and the school don't agree? This is common, and Texas gives you real options before anything turns into a fight. The first is a facilitated IEP meeting. A neutral facilitator from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) sits in and helps both sides talk through the disagreement. The facilitator doesn't take a side and doesn't make the decision. Their only job is to help the meeting stay productive so the team can reach an agreement. It's free, and both you and the school have to agree to use it.

If a facilitated meeting doesn't settle things, the next option is mediation, where a trained, neutral person helps you and the school work toward an agreement outside the meeting. Beyond that, you can request a due process hearing, which is the most formal step and the one to consider when the disagreement is serious and the other options haven't worked.

You don't have to figure all this out by yourself. Disability Rights Texas offers free resources and support for parents going through the special education process. Partners Resource Network, a Texas nonprofit, gives free one-on-one help to parents across the state, including help understanding your rights and preparing for an ARD meeting. Both are good places to turn when you want someone in your corner who knows how this works.

Here's how it looks in real life. Say you sent your written request in early October and signed consent two weeks later. The 45-school-day clock started at consent, so with Thanksgiving and winter break in the mix, the FIE might not wrap until late January. Then the ARD meeting gets scheduled, you sit down with the team, and you find out your child qualifies for reading support and speech services. You read the draft IEP, notice the speech minutes look low, and ask to take it home before signing. That's not being difficult. That's using a right you have.

The whole process has a rhythm to it, and once you know the steps, it stops feeling like a maze. Request, consent, evaluation, ARD meeting, IEP. The terms are clunky, but the path is clear.

Your next step today is simple: write your evaluation request and send it to the principal and the special education director, then save a dated copy. If you'd rather have someone walk it with you, from the request letter through the ARD meeting and whatever comes after, that's exactly what an education advocate does. Turnout can help you get started today.

Frequently asked questions

How do I request an IEP evaluation in Texas?

Put it in writing. Send a letter or email to your child's school principal and the district's special education director asking for a full special education evaluation. Keep a dated copy. Once you sign consent, the school has 45 school days to complete the evaluation. If you're unsure which district your child attends, look it up at txschools.gov, then send your request today.

What is an ARD meeting in Texas?

ARD stands for Admission, Review, and Dismissal. It's the meeting where your child's team reviews the evaluation, decides whether your child qualifies for special education, and builds the IEP if they do. Other states call this the IEP team meeting. You're a full member of the ARD team, so your voice counts. Ask for the draft IEP ahead of time so you can read it before you go.

Do I have to sign the IEP at the ARD meeting?

No. You can take the IEP home, review it, and come back before you sign. If something doesn't sit right, say so at the meeting. You have the right to take your time. If you'd like help reviewing the plan, an education advocate can walk through it with you before you agree to anything.

What can I do if I disagree with the school's decision?

You have options. Texas offers a free facilitated IEP meeting, where a neutral Texas Education Agency facilitator helps both sides reach agreement. You can also request mediation or a due process hearing. Disability Rights Texas and Partners Resource Network both offer free support. Start with the facilitated meeting, since it's the least adversarial step.