Individual Family Service Plan

What's required:

For a child from birth through two years of age with a visual impairment and / or an auditory impariment, an IFSP meeting must be held in place of an admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee meeting. 89.1050(b) 1401(15) IFSP has the meaning given the term in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C. 300.24 1436


The LEA must ensure the IFSP contains:

  • A statement of the infant's or toddler's present levels of physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, and adaptive development, based on objective criteria; 1436(d)(1)
  • A statement of the family's resources, priorities, and concerns relating to enhancing the development of the family's infant or toddler with a disability; 1436(d)(2)
  • A statement of the measurable results or outcomes expected to be achieved for the infant or toddler and the family, including pre-literacy and language skills, as developmentally appropriate for the child, and the criteria, procedures, and timelines used to determine the degree to which progress toward achieving the results or outcomes is being made and whether modifications or revisions of the results or outcomes of services are necessary; 1436(d)(3)
  • A statement of specific early intervention services based on peer-reviewed research, to the extent practicable, necessary to meet the unique needs of the infant or toddler and the family, including the frequency, intensity, and method of delivering services; 1436(d)(4)
  • A statement of the natural environments in which early intervention services must appropriately be provided, including a justification of the extent, if any, to which the services will not be provided in a natural environment; 1436(d)(5)
    • The appropriate instructional arrangement for children from birth through the age of two with visual and/or auditory impairments must be determined in accordance with the IFSP, current attendance guidelines, and the Auditorily Impaired/Visually Impaired Memorandum of Understanding between the Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA); 89.63(d)
    • Home instruction may be used for services to infants and toddlers (zero through two) when determined appropriate by the child's IFSP committee; 89.63(2)(c)(b)
  • The projected dates for initiation of services and the anticipated length, duration, and frequency of the services; 1436(d)(6)
  • The identification of the service coordinator from the profession most immediately relevant to the infant's or toddler's or family's needs (or who is otherwise qualified to carry out all applicable responsibilities under IDEA Part C) who will be responsible for the implementation of the plan and coordination with other agencies and persons, including transition services; and 1436(d)(7)
  • The steps to be taken to support the transition of the toddler with a disability to preschool or other appropriate services. 1436(d)(8)


What to do:

The Hays Consolidated Independent School District (HCISD) in coordination with the Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) programs provides services for children ages 0-2 who have been identified as having auditory and/or visual impairments.

The Hays Consolidated Independent School District (HCISD) will:

  • refer all children from birth through age two suspected of having an auditory and/or visual impairment to the local ECI Agency within 2 working days
  • provide the functional vision evaluation, learning media assessment, and orientation and mobility evaluation by a certified teacher of the visually impaired and/or orientation and mobility specialist within 15 working days of the referral from the local ECI agency
  • provide other assessments by a certified teacher of the deaf to determine the need for services or adaptive equipment related to the auditory impairment within 15 working days of the referral from the local ECI agency
  • provide personnel from the Auditory Impaired Programs and/or Visually Impaired Programs to consult with the ECI assessment team
  • provide personnel from the Auditory Impaired and/or Visually Impaired Programs to participate as a member of the local ECI Agency interdisciplinary team in determining eligibility and developing the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP)
  • provide instructional services for auditory impaired and visually impaired children from certified teachers of the deaf, certified teachers of the visually impaired, and/or orientation and mobility specialists
  • provide instructional materials through Quota Funds to visually impaired children
  • ensure the participation of a certified teacher of the deaf and/or certified teacher of the visually impaired in the six month review
  • participate in the annual IFSP meeting and re-assess eligibility for auditory impaired or visually impaired instructional services
  • provide personnel from the Auditory Impaired Program, Visually Impaired Program, to participate in the local ECI agency transition meeting to be held at least ninety (90) days prior to the child's third birthday
  • inform parents of services available at the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) and/or Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
  • register each child on the Annual Registration of Students with Visually Impairments, and as appropriate, on the Deaf/Blind Census
  • register each child on the Annual Survey of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and Youth
  • adopt and meet all Part C requirements, including but not limited to a family-focused process, flexible hours, full-year services, timelines, and procedural safeguards for children birth through two years of age
  • enroll all children, birth through two years of age, with visual and/or auditory impairments who need specialized services, and include them in Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS)
  • cooperate fully with all investigations conducted under Part C or Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and all date collection efforts
  • ensure that a child with an auditory impairment has access to American Sign Language (ASL), information about deaf culture and all educational options, including TSD, as appropriate