Texas Education Code (TEC) Chapter 30, Subchapter D requires the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to have a process of providing, on a statewide basis, a suitable education for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Part of this process involves the establishment of regional day school programs for the deaf (RDSPDs) in each of the state’s regions. Under 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §89.1080, all local educational agencies (LEAs) shall have access to RDSPDs. Any student who has a hearing impairment that severely impairs processing linguistic information through hearing, even with recommended amplification, and which adversely affects educational performance shall be eligible for consideration for the RDSPD, subject to the recommendations of the student’s admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee. See 19 TAC §89.1080.

Texas Education Code §29.007 authorizes LEAs to enter into written contracts to jointly operate their special education programs. These contracts are known as shared services arrangements (SSAs). Many LEAs find that sharing special education services among LEAs enables them to provide services more efficiently and effectively than would be the case if they provided the services individually. In addition to being able to jointly operate their special education programs in a SSA arrangement, LEAs may also enter into SSAs to jointly operate RDSPDs.