IEP for ADHD in Texas: OHI Eligibility, ARD Process, and What the IEP Must Include

Your child has a formal ADHD diagnosis. The school has been suggesting a 504 plan. You think the challenges go beyond what a 504 can address, and you want to understand whether an IEP is the right path — and how to get one in Texas.

This is one of the most common situations Texas special education parents navigate, and the answer depends on understanding both the eligibility standard and the Texas-specific ARD process.

How ADHD Qualifies for an IEP in Texas

ADHD qualifies under the Other Health Impairment (OHI) category in Texas, governed by TAC §89.1040. The OHI definition under Texas law requires that the condition result in "limited alertness with respect to the educational environment, that adversely affects the child's educational performance."

Two key thresholds must be met:

1. Adversely affects educational performance — This does not require failing grades. A student who is passing with significant accommodations and parental support at home, but is below grade level in assessed areas or requires major modifications to complete grade-level work, may still meet this threshold.

2. Requires specially designed instruction — This distinguishes an IEP from a 504. If the student needs instruction that is modified in content, methodology, or delivery (not just extra time or a quieter room), that is specially designed instruction.

Texas districts sometimes tell parents that ADHD "only" qualifies for a 504 because the student is passing. This is not accurate. The standard is adverse effect and need for specially designed instruction — not whether the student is failing.

What the FIIE Must Assess for OHI/ADHD

When you request a full evaluation for potential OHI/ADHD, the FIIE should include:

Cognitive Assessment: To establish processing strengths and weaknesses, including working memory and processing speed — both commonly impacted by ADHD and relevant to intervention planning.

Academic Achievement Testing: Including reading, written expression, and math. This establishes whether ADHD is creating academic skill gaps that require direct instruction, not just accommodation.

Behavioral Rating Scales: Broad-band behavioral instruments (like the BASC-3 or Conners) completed by parents and multiple teachers. These assess attention, hyperactivity-impulsivity, executive function, and internalizing symptoms in both home and school contexts.

Executive Function Assessment: Instruments specifically designed to assess planning, organization, working memory, and inhibition (such as the BRIEF-2). These are particularly relevant for OHI goal development.

Classroom Observation: A structured observation in at least one classroom setting, documenting on-task behavior, teacher interaction patterns, and the academic demands present.

Review of Prior Records: Grades, attendance, discipline data, and any prior evaluations or diagnoses should be incorporated.

If the FIIE includes only a teacher rating scale and a record review, it is insufficient. Request a comprehensive evaluation in writing, specifically naming each component you expect.

The ARD Process for ADHD IEP

Once the FIIE is complete, the ARD committee meets to review the results and determine eligibility. For ADHD/OHI, the committee is typically looking at:

• Whether the cognitive/achievement profile shows a pattern consistent with ADHD
• Whether rating scale data confirms significant attention, hyperactivity, or executive function challenges in the school setting
• Whether those challenges are causing adverse educational effects

You can bring supporting documentation to the ARD — including the private diagnosis, any outside neuropsychological evaluation reports, and written statements from private therapists or tutors. The ARD must consider this information.

If the ARD finds your child eligible under OHI, the same meeting or a follow-up ARD meeting will develop the IEP. You have the right to adjourn and reconvene — you do not have to agree to a complete IEP on the same day as the eligibility determination.

What an ADHD IEP Must Include in Texas

A well-designed IEP for a student with ADHD under OHI in Texas should address:

PLAAFP (Present Levels): A specific, data-based description of how ADHD affects the student's attention, organization, task completion, academic performance, and behavior — with actual numbers from the FIIE and classroom data, not generalizations.

Measurable Annual Goals addressing the functional impacts of ADHD, which might include:

• Task initiation and completion within a structured work period
• Organization and materials management
• On-task behavior during independent work
• Written expression output (given that written tasks are particularly difficult for ADHD due to the combined demands on working memory and sustained attention)

Specially Designed Instruction: This is what separates the IEP from the 504. Specially designed instruction for ADHD might include direct instruction in executive function strategies, a structured organizational system explicitly taught by the special education teacher, or a modified approach to written expression (graphic organizers, dictation-to-text, chunked writing tasks).

Supplementary Aids and Services: The accommodations that are also in a 504 plan — extended time, preferential seating, reduced-distraction testing — but now legally binding and subject to IEP accountability.

Related Services: If occupational therapy, counseling, or other services are needed to benefit from the IEP, they should be listed with frequency, duration, and location.

STAAR Accommodations: An IEP-based STAAR accommodation designation is typically more straightforward to document and implement than a 504-based one. Common ADHD STAAR accommodations through an IEP include extended time, separate setting, and frequent supervised breaks.

Behavior Intervention Plan: If ADHD-related behavior (impulsivity, disruption, non-compliance) is a documented challenge, a BIP developed from an FBA should be attached to the IEP.

When the ARD Denies OHI Eligibility

If the ARD finds your child ineligible for OHI and you disagree, your options in Texas are:

1. Request an IEE at public expense if you believe the FIIE was inadequate or its conclusions do not match the data
2. File a TEA state complaint if procedural violations occurred (e.g., FIIE was incomplete, ARD did not include required members, PWN was not provided)
3. Request mediation through TEA for a voluntary resolution session
4. File for due process if the disagreement rises to that level

Before escalating, make sure you have a Prior Written Notice (PWN) from the district documenting the eligibility decision and the reasons for it. The PWN is your record of what was decided and why.

If the district is recommending a 504 after an OHI eligibility denial, review the texas-504-plan-for-adhd post for the specific considerations around that decision.

The Texas IEP & 504 Blueprint includes the FIIE evaluation request language for OHI, ARD preparation checklists for ADHD eligibility meetings, and templates for responding when the ARD recommends a 504 rather than an IEP.

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