ARD Committee

The admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee is the team that meets to determine eligibility based on a full and individual evaluation report, and to develop an individualized education program (IEP) for the child, if applicable.

The ARD committee members must include the following:

the parent;
at least one regular education teacher of the child who must, when possible, be a teacher who is responsible for implementing a portion of the child’s IEP;
at least one special education teacher or provider of the child;
a representative of the school;
a person who can interpret the instructional implications of the evaluation results;
whenever appropriate, the child;

Additional members may include:

other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child and are invited by either the parent or the school;
to the extent appropriate, with parent’s written consent or, after the child reaches age 18, with the adult child’s written consent, a representative of any participating agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services;
a representative from career and technical education, preferably the teacher, if the child is being considered for initial or continued placement in career or technical education; and
a professional staff member who is on the language proficiency assessment committee (LPAC), if the child is identified as an English language learner.
Other Teachers:
- a teacher who is certified in the education of students with auditory impairments, if the child has a suspected or documented auditory impairment;
- a teacher who is certified in the education of students with visual impairments, if the child has a suspected or documented visual impairment; or
a teacher who is certified in the education of students with visual impairments and a teacher who is certified in the education of students with auditory impairments, if the child has suspected or documented deaf-blindness.

Regulations for IEP Teams and ARD Committees

34 CFR §300.321 IEP Team.

General. The public agency must ensure that the IEP Team for each child with a disability includes
1. The parents of the child;
2. Not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment);
3. Not less than one special education teacher of the child, or where appropriate, not less than one special education provider of the child;
4. A representative of the public agency who—
  1. Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities;
  2. Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and
  3. Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency.
5. An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the team described in paragraphs (a)(2) through (a)(6) of this section;
6. At the discretion of the parent or the agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel as appropriate; and
7. Whenever appropriate, the child with a disability.

19 TAC §89.1050. The Admission, Review, and Dismissal Committee. (c) ARD committee membership.

ARD committees must include the following:
1. the parents of the student;
2. not less than one regular education teacher of the student (if the student is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment) who must, to the extent practicable, be a teacher who is responsible for implementing a portion of the student's IEP;
3. not less than one special education teacher of the student, or where appropriate, not less than one special education provider of the student;
4. a representative of the school district who:
  1. is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities;
  2. is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and
  3. is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the school district;
5. an individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the committee described in subparagraphs (B)-(D) and (F) of this paragraph;
6. at the discretion of the parent or the school district, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the student, including related services personnel, as appropriate;
7. whenever appropriate, the student with a disability;
8. to the extent appropriate, with the consent of the parents or a student who has reached the age of majority, a representative of any participating agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services;
9. a representative from career and technical education (CTE), preferably the teacher, when considering initial or continued placement of a student in CTE; and
10. a professional staff member who is on the language proficiency assessment committee who may be a member of the committee described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this paragraph, if the student is identified as an English language learner.
The special education teacher or special education provider that participates in the ARD committee meeting must be appropriately certified or licensed as required by 34 CFR, §300.18 and §300.156.
If the student is:
1. a student with a suspected or documented visual impairment, the ARD committee must include a teacher who is certified in the education of students with visual impairments;
2. a student with a suspected or documented auditory impairment, the ARD committee must include a teacher who is certified in the education of students with auditory impairments; or
3. a student with suspected or documented deaf-blindness, the ARD committee must include a teacher who is certified in the education of students with visual impairments and a teacher who is certified in the education of students with auditory impairments.