Funding determination guide.

The Intensity of Services funding model, explained in plain language.

Texas's new special education funding model rates each student across five domains and four factors, resolves that into one of eight intensity tiers, and adds up to two service groups. There's no single plain-language walkthrough of how that actually works — just statute and TEA PDFs. This guide is that walkthrough.

Start at the top if you're new. Jump to a domain or factor if you have a student in front of you. Use the reference pages when you just need to confirm a number.

Start here

The orientation layer. Read these first if the rubric is new to you, or come back to the hub any time you lose the thread.

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How to rate a student

The hub. The order of operations from a blank determination to a finished tier — and where to go at each step.
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What is a domain?

A naive-reader intro to the five areas of support the rubric rates — and the don't-double-count rule.
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What is a factor?

A naive-reader intro to the four questions you ask inside every domain, and the highest-factor-wins rule.

Factor deep dives

One factor, walked across all five domains. The cut that teaches the grammar of the rubric — read these to build intuition before you rate.

A

Type, frequency & nature

How much service, how often.

B

Provider credentials

Who has to deliver it.

C

Ratio

What staffing ratio it requires.

D

Equipment

What equipment or technology it requires.

Domain deep dives

One domain, all four of its factors, boundaries first. The operational cut — the one you reach for with a real student, rating one area.

Domain 1

Curriculum & Instruction

Specialized academic instruction and curriculum modification.

Domain 2

Behavior

Behavioral, emotional, and social-regulation supports — preventive vs. crisis.

Domain 3

Communication

Speech and language therapy, AAC, communication-partner support.

Domain 4

Independent Functioning

Routines, transitions, organization, self-management.

Domain 5

Personal Care / Health

Toileting, feeding, mobility, hygiene, nursing, health procedures.

Output & service groups

The two machines that turn ratings into labels: scores into a tier, and the separate time-and-staffing axis into service groups.

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How scores become a tier

Five domain scores in, one tier out: the ladder, the top-two-tier gates, and the three overrides.
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Service groups

The separate axis: related-services minutes (Groups 1–3) and dedicated 1:1 time (Groups 4–5).

Reference

For quick lookups mid-task — definitions and every threshold in one place.

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Glossary

Plain-language definitions — SDI, FAPE, direct vs. indirect, the anchor rule, and more.
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Every threshold in one place

The lookup card — minute markers, tier bands, service-group bands. Confirm a number fast.

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