SECTION 360.707. Eligibility

(a) To be eligible for a Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver, the applicant must:

(1) submit an application to DARS DHHS for a Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver;

(2) be at least 17 years old at the time of application or, if less than 17, provide proof of being a high school senior or having a high school diploma or equivalent; and

(3) establish functional deafness in that the applicant's sense of hearing is nonfunctional, after all necessary medical treatment, surgery, and use of hearing aids, for understanding normal conversation.

(b) To establish functional deafness, an applicant whose mode of communication in the classroom is primarily visual must provide documentation verifying one of the following:

(1) unaided average hearing loss in the better ear of 55 decibels (dB) or greater using 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, as verified by a licensed audiologist or licensed fitter and dispenser of hearing instruments;

(2) aided average hearing loss in the better ear of 30 dB or greater using 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz, as verified by a licensed audiologist or licensed fitter and dispenser of hearing instruments;

(3) speech discrimination is less than 50 percent as verified by a licensed audiologist or a licensed fitter and dispenser of hearing instruments; or

(4) other disabling conditions (with or without hearing loss) that result in a person's sense of hearing being nonfunctional as verified by a physician.

(c) Eligibility for a Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver is determined by DARS DHHS, and the determination is final.

(d) The Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver issued by DARS DHHS is not a determination that an applicant satisfies the residency requirement, or any other requirement set forth under Education Code, §54.364, for tuition waiver at any eligible institution.

(e) DARS DHHS may request additional documentation to support an application for a Certificate of Deafness for Tuition Waiver. Failure to provide any requested documentation within the requested period may result in denial of an application.

Source Note: The provisions of this §360.707 adopted to be effective April 24, 2013, 38 TexReg 2513; transferred effective March 1, 2021, as published in the Texas Register February 5, 2021, 46 TexReg 946