TEA is committed to providing effective supports and guidance to Texas public schools in their implementation of strong and effective programs for students with disabilities. The Small and Rural Schools Network (SRSN) was created to help these LEAs meet the challenges unique to their size and region. The purpose of this project is to provide technical assistance to students with disabilities who live in small and rural local education agencies (LEAs) within Texas. Difficulty with staff recruitment/retention, geographic isolation, and availability of resources are just a few of the barriers these schools face. The SRSN will develop a network of collaborative partnerships, resources, and innovative professional development to ensure a more equitable level of service to students with disabilities (SWD) in small and rural LEAs.

Small – K-12 population of 700 or less students, based on Fall 2020 Snapshot data
Rural – located 60 or more miles away from the nearest ESC

2021-22 Eligible Small and Rural LEAs

Each regional education service center (ESC) has designated a contact for the Small and Rural Schools Network (SRSN). The SRSN contacts assist in distributing network information to local education agencies (LEA) in their region and are the first point of contact for questions. Contact information for each ESC is listed below.

To help guide the work of this network, an advisory committee was created with members from across the state that have experience working in small and rural schools.