In Texas public schools, an ARD facilitator coordinates the meetings where decisions about a student’s special education are made. Outside Texas, some districts call similar jobs IEP facilitator. “IEP facilitator” can also mean something different: a neutral person brought in to help a meeting where parents and the school disagree. This page explains both.
What does ARD stand for?
ARD stands for admission, review, and dismissal. Under Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, §89.1050, each school district “must establish an admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee” for each eligible student with a disability, and for each student who receives a full individual and initial evaluation.
Some district documents expand it as “Annual, Review, and Dismissal”. The state rule says admission.
What does the ARD committee do?
The rule states that “the ARD committee is the individualized education program (IEP) team” defined in federal law at 34 CFR §300.321. Under federal regulations, an IEP is a written statement for each child with a disability that is “developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting” (34 CFR §300.320). The team must review it “periodically, but not less than annually” (34 CFR §300.324).
Under §89.1050 the district is responsible for the committee’s functions, including:
- IEPs
- evaluations, re-evaluations and eligibility decisions
- least restrictive environment
- disciplinary placement of students with disabilities
Among others, the committee must include the student’s parents, at least one general education teacher (if the student is or may be in general education), at least one special education teacher or provider, and a district representative. That representative must be qualified to provide or supervise specially designed instruction and must know the general curriculum and the district’s resources. The committee also needs someone who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, and includes the student when appropriate.
Under 19 TAC §89.1055(z), the school district “must take all reasonable actions necessary to ensure that the parent understands the proceedings of the ARD committee meeting”, including arranging an interpreter for parents who are deaf or hard of hearing or whose primary language is not English.
What does an ARD facilitator do?
“ARD facilitator” is a job title created by districts. It does not appear in the state’s special education rules (19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter AA). Three Texas district job descriptions we reviewed in November 2026 describe the work like this:
- Mabank ISD (undated; file name dated May 2022): schedule ARD meetings and help set the agenda, the time allotted and guidelines for the meeting. Facilitate committee discussions so members “communicate and collaborate effectively”, make sure each member can take part, resolve disagreements, keep the committee on task and meet federal and state timelines.
- Argyle ISD (revised October 2025): chair or co-chair ARD meetings, notify parents, monitor ARD paperwork, and keep state data (PEIMS) accurate for ARD dates, instructional settings and disabilities. The role may cover more than one campus.
- Flour Bluff ISD (revised January 2025): coordinate the IEP process on assigned campuses, including scheduling and conducting ARD meetings, and work with parents and teachers on assessment data and IEP implementation.
What background do ARD facilitator postings ask for?
The three job descriptions above asked for:
- Degree: a bachelor’s degree (Mabank), a bachelor’s with a master’s preferred (Argyle), or a master’s degree (Flour Bluff).
- Certification: “Valid Texas Teacher Special Education Certification or diagnostician certification” (Argyle), or “Certification as per Texas Education Agency” (Flour Bluff).
- Experience: three years of teaching. Mabank asks for three years teaching students with disabilities and taking part in ARD meetings. Argyle asks for three years of special education classroom experience. Flour Bluff asks for three years of successful teaching.
Requirements differ from district to district, so read each posting.
ARD facilitator jobs near me, and remote ARD jobs
The job descriptions we reviewed are campus-based district roles, assigned to one or more campuses with occasional district-wide travel. None of them described remote work. Check the employment pages of the districts you can commute to.
ARD facilitator salary
BLS does not track ARD facilitators. Pay is set by the employing district. Flour Bluff ISD, for example, has its board adopt a compensation plan each year, and in its 2025-2026 plan the ARD Facilitator appears on the administrative/professional pay plan with a 206-day calendar. Argyle ISD’s job description (revised October 2025) lists pay grade AP2 and 197 duty days. Compare the number of contract days as well as the salary when you look at offers.
For context only: BLS reports a median annual wage of $67,170 for special education teachers (BLS, May 2025). That is a different occupation, but it is the background the postings we reviewed ask for. See facilitator salary.
IEP facilitator jobs outside Texas
Outside Texas, “IEP facilitator” can be a staff role much like an ARD facilitator. For example, an undated Socorro Consolidated Schools (New Mexico) job description, viewed in November 2026, describes its IEP facilitators as leading and facilitating the IEP process in assigned schools. The role requires a New Mexico teaching license with a special education endorsement.
IEP facilitation as dispute resolution
IEP facilitation also names a form of alternative dispute resolution. In Texas, 19 TAC §89.1196 describes it as using “a qualified facilitator to assist an admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee in developing an IEP”. Districts are not required to offer it. A district that does offer it can use independent contractors, employees or other qualified individuals as facilitators (§89.1196(c)). At a minimum, each one must:
- have demonstrated knowledge of federal and state special education requirements
- have demonstrated knowledge of and experience with the ARD committee meeting process
- have completed 18 hours of training in IEP facilitation, consensus building and/or conflict resolution
- complete continuing education as determined by the district
Under §89.1196(g), the facilitator must not be a member of the student’s ARD committee, must not have any decision-making authority over the committee, and must remain impartial to the topics under discussion.
Under §89.1197, TEA provides a state program with independent IEP facilitators. It is voluntary and free to the parties. The request must be submitted jointly by the school district and the parent, and under §89.1197(f)(3) TEA must receive it “at least 10 school days prior to the ARD committee meeting for which a facilitator is being requested or within 10 school days of the ARD committee meeting that ended in disagreement” (October 2026 compilation of the rule). TEA’s IEP facilitation page says the facilitator “cannot provide input or an opinion into the development of a student’s IEP”. CADRE (the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education), funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs, describes facilitation as an “upstream dispute resolution activity”.
Hiring for this role?
If your district or education service center is hiring an ARD or IEP facilitator, get in touch about listing the role on facilitatorjobs.com.