IEA Frequently Asked Questions
The Individualized Education Account (IEA) Program is a school choice program for eligible students with disabilities. The program was created by the Individualized Education Act, adopted by the General Assembly in 2015. The first IEAs were awarded in January 2017. The IEA Program gives parents and students access to public education funds to use on certain types of approved educational expenses that best meet their own unique needs.
For more detailed information about the program, please review the IEA Account Holder Handbook and the IEA Participating Private School Handbook.
If you have questions about the IEA Program, please contact IEA.Questions@tn.gov.
Student eligibility requirements are set by state law, and the department cannot make exceptions. Students are eligible to receive an IEA if they meet all of the posted on the IEA Student Eligibility webpage and Chapter 2 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook.
A helpful resource to learn about student eligibility is the 'Is my child eligible?' quiz.
Information on how to apply to enroll a student in the IEA Program is posted on the IEA Student Application & Renewal webpage.
If you have questions about student eligibility, please email IEA.Questions@tn.gov.
The maximum annual amount is equal to the amount representing the per-pupil state and local funds generated and required through the Basic Education Program (BEP)—the state's funding formula for public education—for the school district in which the student resides and is zoned to attend. For a list of the payment amounts, please see the Per Pupil Funding Guide for Parents posted on the IEA webpage.
The department will distribute the IEA payments onto a pre-paid IEA debit card. The IEA Program is a direct-payment program, not a reimbursement program. For more information, see Chapter 7 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook. For the payment schedule, see the Key Dates webpage.
No. Any student who is eligible for an IEA may participate after they submit an application, receive approval from the department, and complete the entire IEA enrollment process.
No. Students in the IEA Program cannot be enrolled full time in a public school. Once a student enrolls in the IEA Program (Aug. 1 of the IEA contract period), they must enroll in and attend either a private school or an independent home school in accordance with Tennessee's school attendance law. For more information, see Chapter 1 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook.
Yes, students must be a resident of Tennessee in order to be eligible for the IEA Program and to continue to participate in the IEA Program.
No. Students must be enrolled in and have attended a Tennessee public school for one full school year immediately preceding the school year in which the student receives an IEA.
No. IFSPs, IPPs, and ISPs are not the same as an IEP and do not meet the requirement set in state law for eligibility for the IEA Program. Since an active IEP is one of the eligibility requirements set in state law, students with IFSPs, ISPs, or IPPs would not qualify for the IEA Program.
If a student has an active IEP prior to enrolling in kindergarten (i.e., in pre-K) and the IEP is active at the time of request for participation in the IEA Program, the student will be eligible to receive an IEA without having to attend a Tennessee public school; however, the student may have to be enrolled in a public school (e.g., pre-K) to keep the IEP active through the date the IEA application is submitted. Please note: For more information about IEPs, parents should contact their school district.
The IEA team cannot provide information on IEPs. You can contact your local public school, the special education supervisor for your public school district, or one of the department's IDEA complaints investigators whose contact information is available on the department's directory.
No. Students must be in grades K–12 in order to enroll in in the IEA program and use IEA funds.
No. Students must be in grades K–12 in order to enroll in in the IEA Program and use IEA funds. If the student is enrolled in the IEA Program and graduates from high school, and if the account holder has leftover funds in the IEA and wishes to enroll the student in a postsecondary institution, they may use the remaining funds for approved IEA expenses used for the student's postsecondary education. Postsecondary students in the IEA Program do not receive any additional payments to their IEA. For more information, see Chapter 4 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook.
Possibly. If a participating school or provider is a recipient of federal funds, accommodations may be available pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students or parents should inquire of the school or provider regarding the applicability of Section 504.
Yes. Students may be required to take assessments if they are in the IEA Program. See Chapter 3 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook.
No. The TDOE will not compile, track, or publicly release student assessment results; student assessment results submitted to the TDOE will only be reviewed to verify that the student has taken the required assessments. All assessments will be for parents' information and use only. For more information, see Chapter 3 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook.
The IEA Program has 13 approved uses of funds set in state law. For a description of the approved uses of funds, see Chapters 5 and 6 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook.
IEA funds can be used to pay for tuition, fees, and required textbooks only at private schools approved to participate in the IEA Program and listed on the IEA Participating Schools list for that IEA contract year. The list of participating schools is available here. For more information, see Chapter 8 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook. Once enrolled in the IEA Program, students can attend any nonpublic school, including private schools and independent home schools; however, IEA funds can only be used to pay for the tuition, fees, and required textbooks at participating schools.
Any funds remaining will be returned to the state treasurer to be placed in the BEP account of the education trust fund.
A student who enrolls in the program is eligible to continue participation until he/she returns to a public school, graduates from high school, or reaches 22 years of age by August 15 for the next school year, whichever occurs first.
For information on enrolling your child in the IEA Program, see the Student Application and Renewal webpage, and Chapter 5 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook. The IEA Program has only one student application window each year; the application window will be announced through the IEA Update, the monthly email newsletter distributed by the department, which you can subscribe to receive.
Yes. The IEA Application is just the first step in enrolling your student in the IEA Program.
If your application is approved, you will receive a notification from the IEA team that will explain the next steps for completing the IEA enrollment process. You can withdraw your IEA student application at any time before the effective date of Aug. 1, by emailing IEA.Questions@tn.gov. Withdrawing your application before Aug. 1 will not impact your student's public school enrollment or IEP status.
For a list of the responsibilities, see the IEA School District Responsibilities Guide and the IEA EIS and SIS Guide.
For instructions on how to code students receiving IEAs in EIS, see the IEA EIS and SIS Guide.
To change the name or contact information for the IEA LEA liaison, email IEA.Questions@tn.gov.
No. The assessment results of students who are appropriately coded as students receiving IEAs or as independent home-school students are not included in the accountability for school or system-wide school district results. For more information on how to code students receiving IEAs in EIS and SIS, please see the IEA EIS and SIS Guide.
If a school district administers a TCAP assessment to an independent home-school student who is enrolled in the IEA Program, the district should follow the IEA instructions in the Test Administration Manual.
No. The TDOE will not compile, track, or publicly release assessment results for students receiving IEAs; assessment results for students receiving IEAs submitted to the TDOE will only be reviewed to verify that the student receiving an IEA has taken the assessments required by state law.
No. The TDOE does not directly approve providers (e.g., therapists and tutors) nor do we publish a list of approved providers. Parents receive the IEA funding and will pay the providers with which they contract. Parents are solely responsible for determining how to use the IEA funds allocated to their student following the laws, rules, and procedures of the IEA Program. The parent is responsible for any contract signed with a provider and ensuring that the terms of the contract are fulfilled. The TDOE cannot void a private contract, give legal advice, or arbitrate payment schedules. IEA account holders must request pre-approval from the TDOE and receive approval before they can use IEA funds to pay for tutoring and educational therapy services (see Chapter 9 of the IEA Account Holder Handbook). Each pre-approval notice is only valid for the particular student, provider, and services listed on the approved notice.
No. Tutors and therapists cannot apply directly to participate in the IEA Program. Instead, parents/guardians of students enrolled in the IEA Program must submit the appropriate pre-approval form to the TDOE following the procedures in Chapter 9 of the IEA Parent Handbook.