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Parent Training and Information Centers
Other Parent Training Resources
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Technical Assistance & Dissemination Centers – Regional centers funded under IDEA to provide technical assistance to schools in such areas as early intervention, education, and transitional services. Grants target various topics, disabilities, age ranges, and audiences with the goal of improved results for children with disabilities and their families.
Texas Administrative Code (TAC) – A compilation of all state agency rules in Texas. There are 16 titles in the TAC. Each title represents a category and relating agencies are assigned to the appropriate title. The rules adopted by the State Board of Education (SBOE) and the Commissioner of Education are codified under Title 19, Part II, of the TAC. Title 19 is Education, and Part II is the Texas Education Agency.
Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) – The statewide assessment system used to measures how well students are progressing. The TAKS is aligned with the state-mandated curriculum, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
TAKS-Accommodated – An assessment only available to students who receive special education services for whom TAKS, even with the allowable accommodations, is not an appropriate measure. TAKS-Accommodated is a general assessment with format changes and does not include any field test questions.TAKS-Alternative (TAKS-Alt) – An Alternate assessment based on Alternate Achievement standards for students with the most severe cognitive disabilities who are unable to participate in the other assessments even with substantial accommodations and/or modifications. There are specific participation requirements that need to be met – See the TAKS-Alt Participation requirements.
TAKS-Modified (TAKS-M) –An Alternate assessment based on Modified Achievement standards for students who have a disability that substantially affects academic progress in the grade level TEKS and who cannot achieve grade level proficiency within one year. There are specific participation requirements that need to be met – See the TAKS – M Participation requirements.
Texas Behavior Supports Initiative (TBSI) – A state initiative to enhance the capacity of schools to educate all students, especially students with challenging behaviors, by adopting a sustained, positive, preventative instructional approach to schoolwide discipline and behavior management.
Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education (TCASE) – A professional society comprised of nearly 1,200 members who administer and support special education programs throughout the state of Texas.
Texas Council for the Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) – A 27-member board dedicated to ensuring that all Texans with developmental disabilities, about 411,500 individuals, have the opportunity to be independent, productive and valued members of their communities. The Council works to ensure that the service delivery system provides comprehensive services and supports that meet people’s needs, are easy to access, and are cost effective. The Council also works to improve people’s understanding of disability issues.Texas Continuous Improvement Process (TCIP) – A permanent, annual process that the State uses to continuously identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to improve special education in Texas.
Texas Education Agency (TEA) – The state department of education or state educational agency (SEA), which is responsible for the public education of all students in Texas. The Texas Education Agency works with local school districts to ensure that all public education laws, rules, and regulations are followed.
Texas Education Code (TEC) – Contains the state laws governing education in Texas. The TEC is maintained on the web by the Texas Legislature Online.
Texas Education Agency (TEA) – The state department of education, or state education agency (SEA), which is responsible for the public education of all students in Texas. TEA works with local school districts to ensure that all public education laws, rules, and regulations are followed.
Texas Education Telecommunications Network (TETN) – A state telecommunications data/video conferencing system connecting the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and its 20 regional education service centers. TETN provides a cost-effective interactive audio/video communication and data network to educators across Texas.Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System (TELPAS) – An assessment program for students in Texas public schools who have limited English proficiency. Under No Child Left Behind, Texas must assess English language learners annually in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Student learning the English language begin participating in TELPAS in kindergarten and stop participating when their language proficiency assessment committee (LPAC) determines that they are proficient in the English language.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) – The required curriculum for each grade level used in the Texas public schools. It is the general curriculum referred to in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). See the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website for a complete listing of the TEKS by content and grade level.
Texas Health Steps (THSteps) – A program that provides medical, dental, and case management services for individuals, ages 0 through 20 years, who are enrolled in Medicaid. The program is administered by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
Texas Medicaid & Healthcare Partnership (TMHP) – A coalition of contractors that carries out the Medicaid claims payment and Primary Care Case Management administrator duties for the State of Texas, under contract with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) – A research-based classroom assessment tool that enables teachers to obtain a comprehensive picture of a student’s reading/language arts development. Designed for students in grades K-3, the TPRI measures the students’ progress in five critical areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary. This information helps teachers identify students who may be at risk for reading failure, or who may need supports, so that they can provide effective instructional interventions to ensure that all children are reading successfully by the end of the third grade. The TPRI meets the requirements of the President's Reading First Program (under the No Child Left Behind Act), which provides funding to states and districts to help classroom teachers deliver high-quality reading instruction for all students, with emphasis on the neediest children.
Texas Project FIRST – (Families, Information, Resources, Support and Training) A website created to provide parents with accurate and consistent information about the special education process in Texas. The project is an activity of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Region 9 Education Service Center, which provides statewide leadership for parent coordination as part of the Texas Continuous Improvement Process (TCIP). The website is maintained by Family to Family Network, a non-profit parent organization assisting parents of students with disabilities.
Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired (TSBVI) – Serves as a public school in the continuum of statewide placements for students who have a visual impairment. It is also a statewide resource for parents and professionals. Students, ages 6 through 21, who are blind, deaf blind, or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities, are eligible for consideration for services at TSBVI.
Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) – The oldest continuously operating publicly funded school in Texas. In addition to educating students who are deaf and hard of hearing,TSD serves as a resource center on deafness for students, parents, professionals and others throughout the state.Texas Special Education Continuing Advisory Committee (CAC) – Established as a result of federal regulation and state law for the purpose of providing policy guidance with respect to special education and related services for children with disabilities in Texas.
Texas Steering Committee – A group of key stakeholders, including parents, educators, administrators and other professionals, appointed by TEA to assist the State in assessing the ongoing Texas Continuous Improvement Process (TCIP).Texas Youth Commission (TYC) – Operates year-round educational programs for incarcerated youth ages 10 through 21 within each of its institutional schools.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) – IDEA eligibility category for a student who has “an acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Traumatic brain injury applies to open or closed head injuries resulting in impairments in one or more areas, such as cognition; language; memory; attention; reasoning; abstract thinking; judgment; problem-solving; sensory, perceptual, and motor abilities; psychosocial behavior; physical functions; information processing; and speech. Traumatic brain injury does not apply to brain injuries that are congenital or degenerative, or to brain injuries induced by birth trauma.” A determination of traumatic brain injury must comply with criteria set forth in federal and state law as described in the Traumatic Brain Injury framework of the Legal Framework for the Child Centered Process.
Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 – The place in the law that supports students who are considered “disadvantaged” by ensuring that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and to reach, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic standards and assessments.
Transition Services – A coordinated set of activities that includes moving from one life stage to another.A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Texas Project FIRST is an activity of the Texas Continuing Improvement Process (TCIP) under the auspices of the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Region 9 Education Service Center, and is focused on helping to fulfill the goals of TEA and the Parent Training Committee
TEA Parent Information Line 1-800-252-9668Texas Project FIRST - A project of Family To Family Network - Contact Web Administrator