Texas IDEA Eligibility Criteria — All 13 Categories

Specific Learning Disability (SLD)

Includes dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia

Cognitive Academic

Core Criteria

Disorder in one or more basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written
Demonstrated through significant academic underachievement or significant discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement in one or more areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading fluency, reading comprehension, math calculation, math problem solving
Adverse educational impact on academic performance

Identification Approaches (Texas allows both)

Ability–achievement discrepancy model (typically ≥1.5–2 SD gap)
Response to Intervention / Multi-Tiered Support System (MTSS) data showing inadequate progress despite high-quality instruction
Pattern of strengths and weaknesses (PSW) in academic and cognitive functioning

Exclusionary Factors

Primarily caused by visual, hearing, or motor disability
Primarily caused by intellectual disability
Primarily caused by emotional disturbance
Primarily caused by cultural factors, environmental/economic disadvantage, or limited English proficiency

Instruments WJ-V COG WJ-V ACH WISC-V WIAT-IV KTEA-3 CTOPP-2 TOC

Dyslexia

SLD sub-type · Texas Dyslexia Handbook criteria

SLD Sub-type

Note: Dyslexia is identified under SLD in Texas. TEA requires districts to use the criteria and procedures in the Texas Dyslexia Handbook.

Characteristics

Difficulty with accurate and/or fluent word recognition
Poor decoding and/or spelling abilities
Deficits in phonological awareness, phonological memory, and/or rapid naming
Difficulties that are unexpected relative to other cognitive abilities
Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience

Texas-Specific Requirements

Assessment must include measures of phonological awareness, phonological memory, rapid naming, and word reading/decoding
Must review universal screening and progress monitoring data
Campus dyslexia team (504 or ARD) determines identification

Instruments CTOPP-2 TOC WJ-V ACH WIAT-IV KTEA-3 WJ-V COG

Intellectual Disability (ID)

Formerly: Mental Retardation

Cognitive Adaptive

Core Criteria (all three required)

Significantly subaverage intellectual functioning: generally IQ ≤ 70 (approximately 2 SD below mean), considering measurement error (±5 pts)
Significant limitations in adaptive behavior in at least two of: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health/safety, functional academics, leisure, work
Manifests during the developmental period (before age 18)

Severity Levels

Mild ID: IQ ~55–70; most students in SPED with ID
Moderate ID: IQ ~40–55
Severe/Profound: IQ below 40

Caution: Do not identify ID based on IQ alone. Adaptive behavior data is essential. Consider cultural/linguistic factors in score interpretation.

Instruments WISC-V WJ-V COG ABAS-3 Vineland-3 WJ-V ACH

Other Health Impairment (OHI)

Includes ADHD, diabetes, asthma, and other chronic conditions

Health ADHD

Core Criteria

Having limited strength, vitality, or alertness (including heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment)
Due to chronic or acute health problems such as: ADHD, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions, hemophilia, lead poisoning, leukemia, nephritis, rheumatic fever, sickle cell anemia, Tourette syndrome
Adversely affects educational performance

ADHD-Specific Considerations

DSM-5 diagnosis (physician or licensed diagnostician) typically required
Symptoms present in two or more settings
Onset before age 12; present ≥6 months
Medical documentation should accompany eligibility packet

Instruments Conners-3 BASC-3 BRIEF-2 Classroom Obs. Medical Eval.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Social-communication and restricted/repetitive behaviors

Communication Behavioral

Core Criteria (both required)

Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts (social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication, developing/maintaining relationships)
Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities (stereotyped/repetitive motor movements, insistence on sameness, restricted interests, sensory hyper/hypo-reactivity)
Symptoms present in early developmental period
Adversely affects educational performance

Assessment Areas

Social communication and pragmatic language
Adaptive behavior across home and school settings
Sensory processing profile
Cognitive functioning (to rule out ID as primary)

Instruments ADOS-2 CARS-2 BASC-3 Vineland-3 ABAS-3 WISC-V

Emotional Disturbance (ED)

Long-standing behavioral/emotional condition affecting learning

Behavioral

Criteria — One or more, over a long period, to a marked degree

Inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors
Inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers
Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances
General pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression
Tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems

Includes / Excludes

Includes schizophrenia
Does NOT apply to students who are socially maladjusted unless they also meet the above criteria

Instruments BASC-3 Conners-3 CDI-2 RCMAS-2 Classroom Obs.

Speech or Language Impairment (SLI)

Articulation, fluency, voice, or language disorders

Communication

Types of Impairment

Stuttering — disruption in fluency including repetitions, prolongations, or blocks
Articulation disorder — difficulty producing speech sounds correctly
Voice disorder — abnormality in pitch, loudness, resonance, or quality
Language disorder — impaired comprehension and/or expression; may include phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic deficits

Additional Requirements

Must adversely affect educational performance
For language disorders: standardized scores typically ≥1.5 SD below mean
Rule out hearing impairment as primary cause
Consider bilingual/multilingual background in assessment

Instruments CELF-5 GFTA-3 CTOPP-2 EVT-3 PPVT-5

💡 SY 2026–27 Funding Note: Under the new intensity of services model, a student whose IEP includes speech-language therapy as their only SDI is automatically assigned Intensity Tier 1, regardless of factor ratings within the Communication Supports domain. This is the only tier defined solely by service type rather than composite domain score. If the student also receives other SDI beyond speech, the tier is determined by the full domain scoring process and speech therapy is counted as a related service for Service Group purposes. ARD committee function — not diagnostician role. See Intensity Funding Reference ↗

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Acquired injury to brain from external physical force

Cognitive

Core Criteria

Acquired injury to the brain caused by an external physical force
Results in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial impairment, or both
Adversely affects educational performance
Applies to open or closed head injuries

Affected Areas May Include

Cognition, language, memory, attention, reasoning, abstract thinking
Judgment, problem-solving, sensory/perceptual/motor abilities
Psychosocial behavior, physical functions, information processing, and speech

Exclusions

Does NOT apply to congenital or degenerative brain injuries
Does NOT apply to brain injuries induced by birth trauma

Instruments WISC-V WJ-V COG BASC-3 Medical Records

Visual Impairment (VI)

Including blindness

Sensory

Core Criteria

Impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects educational performance
Includes both partial sight and blindness
Low vision: best corrected visual acuity of 20/70–20/200 in better eye
Blindness: visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in better eye, or visual field ≤20 degrees

Assessment Considerations

Ophthalmological or optometric report required
Functional vision assessment by TVI (Teacher of VI)
Learning media assessment (print vs. Braille needs)

Required Eye Exam Report Functional Vision Eval. TVI Assessment

Hearing Impairment / Deafness

Permanent or fluctuating hearing loss

Sensory

Criteria

Hearing impairment whether permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects educational performance
Deafness: hearing loss so severe that processing linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, is not possible
Hard of Hearing: impairment less severe than deafness, but still adversely affects educational performance

Documentation Required

Audiological evaluation by licensed audiologist
Pure tone audiogram with speech reception threshold
Hearing aid/cochlear implant documentation if applicable

Required Audiological Eval. Audiogram Speech-Language Eval.

Developmental Delay (DD)

Ages 3–9 only · Temporary eligibility category

Ages 3–9

Important: DD is a temporary category. By age 9 (or sooner), the team must re-evaluate and determine if the student meets criteria for a specific disability category, or exit services.

Core Criteria

Child ages 3–9 experiencing developmental delays
Delay of 2.0 SD or more below the mean in one developmental area, OR 1.5 SD or more below the mean in two or more developmental areas
Developmental areas: physical, cognitive, communication, social-emotional, adaptive
Adversely affects educational performance

Instruments Bayley-4 ABAS-3 Vineland-3 BASC-3 PLS-5

Multiple Disabilities

Concomitant impairments causing severe educational needs

Multiple

Core Criteria

Concomitant impairments (e.g., intellectual disability + orthopedic impairment) whose combination causes educational needs so severe they cannot be accommodated in a program for only one disability
Does NOT include deaf-blindness (separate category)

Common Combinations

Intellectual disability + physical/orthopedic impairment
Intellectual disability + autism (if not better described by autism alone)
Cognitive + sensory impairments

Instruments Per each disability ABAS-3 Vineland-3

No categories match