Senate Bill 139, Notice to Families

In 2019, the 86th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 139 (SB 139), which requires Texas local education agencies (LEAs) to distribute the following notice to parents:

• SB 139 Notice to Families (English version)
• SB 139 Notice to Families (Spanish version)

LEAs must complete the customizable sections of the documents found at the links listed above and distribute them to all parents or families of children enrolled in each LEA. TEA has provided the notice in English and Spanish. LEAs are required to make a good faith effort to provide the notice in the parent or family’s native language, if the parent of family’s native language is a language other than English or Spanish.

These notices contain the following information:

• Changes made from 2016 to 2017 in reporting requirements for LEAs regarding special education enrollment in the Performance Based Monitoring Analysis System
• The rights of a child regarding the provision of special education services under both state and federal law
• The process and procedures for initiating a referral for evaluation for special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and TEC Sec. 29.004.
• Where to find local policies and procedures related to initiating a referral for evaluation under IDEA

SB 139 requires LEAs to demonstrate compliance in distributing these notices to parents. LEAs should log into the LEA section of the Legal Framework and affirm compliance by April 30, 2020.