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
- The parents of the child;
- Not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment);
- Not less than one special education teacher of the child, or where appropriate, not less than one special education provider of the child;
- A representative of the public agency who—
- Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities;
- Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and
- Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency.
- 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;
- 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
- 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:
- the parents of the student;
- 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;
- not less than one special education teacher of the student, or where appropriate, not less than one special education provider of the student;
- a representative of the school district who:
- is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities;
- is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and
- is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the school district;
- 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;
- 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;
- whenever appropriate, the student with a disability;
- 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;
- a representative from career and technical education (CTE), preferably the teacher, when considering initial or continued placement of a student in CTE; and
- 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:
- 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;
- 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
- 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.