Non-Educational Support Services

General Information

Non-Educational Community-Based Support Services (Non-Ed) funds:

provide assistance to support families of students with disabilities (with an Individualized Education Program),
age 3 through 21,
who are at risk of being placed in a residential facility primarily for educational purposes.
may also be used to support the family when a student with disabilities placed in a residential facility primarily for educational purposes returns home from the residential facility.

Non-Ed funds are intended to help families care for their children with disabilities and enable the families to better cope with having a child with a disability* at home. Non-Ed funds may not be used for a student with disabilities who is currently placed or needs to be placed in a residential facility primarily for non-educational reasons.

Non-Ed funds are not applicable to students with disabilities with only a Section 504 accommodations plan.

Services provided with Non-Ed funds must be non-educational in nature and must not be used for services that are paid with educational funds. All special education and related services allowable by Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B (IDEA-B) in the implementation of a student's IEP are not allowable expenditures with Non-Ed funds.

Respite Care and Attendant Care are the only services allowable with Non-Ed funds for students with autism.

Non-Ed funds cannot be used for daily services. Non-Ed funds are not intended to maintain services over an extended period of time. Services should be periodic and short-term.

Respite care is intended to provide relief to parents and families with intermittent, short-term care (e.g. weekends, during school holidays). Regularly scheduled periods of respite care over an extended period of time are not allowable with Non-Ed funds.
Attendant care is intended to provide occasional outside assistance to parents and families to normalize routine family activities, including hours when families must sleep. Attendant care is not allowable for baby-sitting or to replace day/night care services.

Parents wishing to access Non-Ed services may contact their child's school and request a meeting to discuss the need for Non-Ed services.

The LEA that is awarded Non-Ed funds must not make payments directly to the family but instead, must make payments for allowable, approved Non-Ed expenditures directly to the service provider.

Additional information can be found at the TEA Non-Educational Community-Based Support Services webpage

ESC-20 Presentation: Non-Ed-Funds

Non-Ed Application

23-24 Application & Deadlines - click this heading for effective dates

Funding Period: September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2024

Non-Ed funds are optional, but can only be initiated by an LEA (ISD or Open-Enrollment Charter School). If an LEA chooses to apply for Non-Ed funds, the Non-Ed application must be submitted to ESC-20 by the deadline. The application process requires collaboration between the LEA , parent(s), and the Community Resource Coordination Group (CRCG) that services the area in which the student resides.

DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2023

By September 29, 2023, please submit the completed, signed application(s) to the ESC-20 contact via email. (ESC-20 Contact link is located at the upper right corner of this webpage.) Maintain the original documents locally.

After the September 29, 2023 deadline to submit 2023-2024 Non-Ed applications, please contact ESC-20 (using the Contact link mentioned above) to inquire if funds are available.

Complete one application per student. For privacy reasons, please do NOT include student names in any emails or in the application. Instead, use student initials or another method to distinguish students without using their names.

Allowable Expenditures and FAQ - click this heading to access resources

Community Resource Coordination Groups (CRCGs) - click this heading for information

For questions regarding Non-Ed funds, the possibility of additional Non-Ed funds available after the initial deadline, or assistance with completion of the application, please use the Contact link located at the upper right corner of this webpage.

For assistance in contacting your county's CRCG, please visit their webpage:

Community Resource Coordination Groups (CRCGs)