TELPAS Alt: Who Takes the Alternate Assessment and Who Decides

Last updated: October 30, 2026

Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

TELPAS Alt, formally TELPAS Alternate, is the Texas English language proficiency assessment for emergent bilingual (EB) students in grades 2 through 12 who have the most significant cognitive disabilities. It is a holistic inventory of 40 Observable Behaviors, rated against alternate proficiency level descriptors aligned to the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS), and it fulfills the federal requirement to assess these students’ English proficiency every year. This guide covers the 2026-2027 participation requirements, who decides, the exemptions, the five levels, scoring, the 2027 window and reclassification.

Executive Summary

TELPAS Alternate serves a small group: TEA’s latest statewide summary, for spring 2024, counts 10,907 students in grades 2-12, and grade 2 is the largest grade, with 1,932. In 2026-2027 the ARD committee decides with the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC), and test administrators rate all 40 behaviors between February 15 and March 26, 2027. TEA plans a new assessment for 2028-2029. The main risks are procedural: one committee deciding alone, an exemption stretched past its criteria, or a domain left unrated, which leaves no rating at all.

TELPAS Alt Participation Requirements

Every decision rests on TEA’s TELPAS Alternate Participation Requirements form (August 2026). It defines the most significant cognitive disability as significant intellectual and adaptive behavior deficits, with a need for extensive, direct, individualized instruction and substantial supports that are neither temporary nor specific to one content area. EB status includes students whose parents declined program services (see emergent bilingual students).

Who Qualifies for TELPAS Alt

The fourth row causes the most trouble: a disability that needs substantial accommodation is not automatically a most significant cognitive disability, and a specific learning disability, or a speech impairment alone, never qualifies.

Grades 3-12: The STAAR Alternate 2 Link

TEA ties the two decisions. An EB student in grades 3-12 whose ARD committee has decided on STAAR Alternate 2 must also take TELPAS Alternate, and the STAAR Alternate 2 requirements satisfy questions 2 to 5 of the TELPAS form. TEA’s 2026-2027 LPAC guide applies the same rule in grades 11 and 12 to students who met those requirements earlier and completed their STAAR Alternate 2 testing.

Grade 2: Four Questions With Evidence

With no STAAR Alternate 2 in grade 2, students take TELPAS unless the ARD committee, with the LPAC, finds TELPAS Alternate more appropriate. Each “Yes” needs a justification with data from the full and individual evaluation (FIE), the IEP or progress monitoring:

1. Most significant cognitive disability, based on the most recent FIE.
2. Ongoing, specialized supports to access the curriculum and function safely across all life domains.
3. Extensive, direct, individualized instruction in all settings.
4. Access to the TEKS through prerequisite skills significantly below grade level.

One “No” ends the review, and the student takes TELPAS.

Assurances and Documentation

Three assurances must be marked: the decision was not based on factors such as disability category, setting, demographics, absences, behavior or expected poor performance; the IEP states why the student cannot take TELPAS and why the alternate is appropriate (34 CFR 300.320(a)(6) and 19 TAC 89.1055); and the IEP explains why any accommodations are needed. The completed form can serve as that IEP statement in monitoring reviews, the LPAC files the decision in the permanent record, and districts indicate participation in TIDE by December 3, 2026.

Who Makes the Participation Decision

TEA’s TELPAS Alternate page says the ARD committee, in conjunction with the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee, must determine if the student meets the participation requirements; the form says “in collaboration with.” Either way, it is one decision made by two committees (see our ARD meeting guide and LPAC committee guide). Three failure patterns follow from ignoring that:

1. The ARD committee decides alone, and the LPAC never weighs in on whether the profile is about disability or about language.
2. The LPAC defers wholesale, so the file cannot show a joint determination.
3. The two meet separately and reconcile on paper, so the file does not show the deliberation a review will look for.

The remedy is administrative: a joint agenda item, both committees represented, documented as one determination. For the wider legal frame, see dually identified students.

The Two Exemptions, and How They Are Misused

Two narrow exemptions exist, on August 2026 forms shared with STAAR Alternate 2, considered only after TELPAS Alternate eligibility is settled:

• No Authentic Academic Response (NAAR): because of multiple impairments, the student cannot receive information during instruction and assessment, or consistently cannot give an authentic academic response, for example showing only startle responses.
• Medical Exception (ME): a terminal or degenerative illness, extensive short-term treatment after an emergency, a risk of infection, or insufficient homebound services, verified in writing by a licensed physician.

The ARD committee decides before testing and documents it in the IEP. Neither exemption covers a student who is merely difficult to assess. Statewide they are rare: 246 NAAR designations and 26 medical exceptions among 10,907 students in spring 2024. If your exemptions cluster on one campus, review those files first.

TELPAS Alt Ratings and Proficiency Levels

Each domain gets one of five levels (TEA definitions, summarized):

The TELPAS Alternate Proficiency Level Descriptors (August 2024) detail each level by domain and count augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as English use.

The TELPAS Alt Composite Rating

Domain levels become scores from 1 to 5, each weighted 0.25, and their sum is the composite score:

Below that, the rating is Awareness. A student not rated in all four domains gets no rating.

How the Levels Relate to TELPAS and the 2024 ELPS

Regular TELPAS uses four levels, Beginning to Advanced High (see TELPAS scores explained), with different cut scores and composite rules, so never merge the two into one chart. The 2024 ELPS describe five levels, from pre-production to advanced (ELPS explained). Both programs keep their current levels in 2026-2027 and 2027-2028, while TEA develops revised alternate descriptors and new Observable Behaviors for a new assessment, with standard setting, in 2028-2029.

How TELPAS Alt Results Are Reported

Confidential student report cards, in English and Spanish, show each domain level and the composite rating for the current and previous year, or a message such as Medical Exception. Families see 2027 results in the Family Portal from April 26.

How TELPAS Alt Is Administered and Scored

TELPAS Alternate is not a test the student sits: a test administrator who knows the student observes English use during instruction.

The Observable Behaviors Inventory

The inventory has 40 Observable Behaviors, 10 per domain, from Following Directions in listening to Spelling in writing, each with five descriptions, A to E. Speaking behavior S7:

The test administrator marks the description that matches how the student performs most consistently (“almost always”), in any order, at once or by domain on separate days, with input from other teachers. TEA’s Eligible ELPS for 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 maps each behavior to the 2024 ELPS for planning.

Who Rates TELPAS Alt

Test administrators “must have a high level of familiarity with the students to be assessed,” TEA says. They may be teachers, counselors, librarians, paraprofessionals, substitutes or other educators, with noncertified staff supervised by certified staff. Training in test security and administration and a signed security oath are required; TEA’s two-part training course is optional but recommended for new test administrators. Unlike TELPAS holistic raters, they do not calibrate.

Response Modes and Accommodations

Students are rated with the IEP accommodations they use daily, and “English” can include sign language, braille or another communication method. Allowable responses include gazing at, pointing to or touching a target (listening, reading, writing), signing or a communication device (speaking, reading), arranging letters or words with manipulatives (reading, writing) and keyboarding (writing).

TELPAS Alt Scoring

TEA converts the points earned in each domain to a scale score from 600 to 1000, and the November 2023 cut scores set the level:

The TELPAS Alt Manual and Other TEA Resources

The current manual is the 2026-2027 TELPAS Alternate Test Administrator Manual. The inventory, classroom examples, descriptors and glossary sit on TEA’s TELPAS Alternate Resources page; an educator guide is listed as coming soon.

TELPAS Alt Test Security

Inventory documents become confidential once ratings are recorded. Falsifying or disclosing ratings, or fraudulently exempting a student, are serious violations under 19 TAC 101.3031.

TELPAS Alt Testing Window 2027

TEA recommends rating early and keeping the last week for checks. STAAR Alternate 2 opens March 15, so the windows overlap. Regular TELPAS dates are in our TELPAS testing window guide.

TELPAS Alt and Reclassification

Most EB students reclassify under 19 TAC 89.1226(i) with a TELPAS composite of Advanced High, the state reading assessment and a teacher evaluation. For a student with a significant cognitive disability, 89.1226(l) lets the LPAC, with the ARD committee, use an individualized reclassification process. TEA’s guidance on dually identified students (September 2025) sets three steps:

1. Qualify at the annual ARD meeting, with an LPAC representative.
2. Set criteria before testing, by domain and level on TELPAS Alternate, with no domain exemptions. STAAR Alternate 2 standards cannot be modified, and the teacher completes the Alternative Subjective Teacher Evaluation.
3. Decide at the end of the year, document it in the IEP, begin two years of monitoring and notify parents.

This process is changing. TEA’s July 16, 2026 letter to administrators says that from 2026-2027, students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are eligible for STAAR Alternate 2 “will undergo a standardized alternative reclassification process.” The proposed amendments to subchapter BB (proposed effective date November 29, 2026) would replace subsection (l) with a rule that these students are eligible to reclassify when they meet EB reclassification criteria, so check TEA’s current guidance before setting criteria.

How TELPAS Alternate Differs from Regular TELPAS

The four domains are the same; what changes is the evidence that counts as a response. See our TELPAS guide; in WIDA states, the equivalent is WIDA Alternate ACCESS.

Funding Support for This Population

The Bilingual Education Allotment (TEC 48.105, amended in 2025) adds 0.1 of the basic allotment for each EB student in a bilingual or special language program (0.15 in dual language immersion), and at least 55% must fund those programs. The special education allotment (TEC 48.102) and Title III, Part A also apply, and 19 TAC 89.1230(a) bars refusing a bilingual or ESL placement because of a disability. See Title III funding in Texas.

Common Mistakes District Leaders Make

1. Letting the ARD committee decide alone. TEA requires a determination made with the LPAC.
2. Assigning any EB with a significant disability to the alternate assessment. The threshold is the most significant cognitive disabilities.
3. Deciding grade 2 without evidence for each of the four questions.
4. Using the exemptions for difficulty rather than for the stated criteria. Check campus-level variation.
5. Leaving a domain unrated, which produces no rating at all.
6. Reporting alternate and regular ratings on one scale. The levels and rules differ.
7. Treating dual-identified students as a special education population only, and forgetting their EB entitlements.

Questions District Leaders Should Ask

• Do our participation files show a joint ARD and LPAC determination?
• Does every grade 2 decision rest on evaluation data?
• How many dual-identified students do we have, year over year?
• Are dual-identified students receiving the language services their EB status entitles them to?
• How much individual communicative practice does each of these students actually get per week?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is TELPAS Alt?

TELPAS Alternate is a holistic inventory aligned to the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards that assesses listening, speaking, reading, and writing for emergent bilingual students in grades 2 through 12 with the most significant cognitive disabilities, using alternate proficiency level descriptors.

Who qualifies for TELPAS Alternate?

Emergent bilingual students in grades 2 through 12 who receive special education services and meet TEA’s participation requirements. Both conditions must hold: EB identification and the most significant cognitive disabilities.

What are the TELPAS Alt participation requirements?

On TEA’s August 2026 form, the student must be identified as EB, be in grades 2-12, have the most significant cognitive disability according to the FIE, need ongoing specialized supports and extensive individualized instruction, and access the TEKS through prerequisite skills. In grades 3-12, an EB student taking STAAR Alternate 2 meets them. Three assurances complete the form.

Who decides whether a student takes TELPAS Alternate?

The ARD committee, in conjunction with the Language Proficiency Assessment Committee, must determine whether the student meets the participation requirements. Neither committee decides alone, and the file should show a joint determination.

Are any students exempt from TELPAS Alternate?

Yes, but narrowly. Students who meet No Authentic Academic Response or Medical Exception criteria are not required to participate. Otherwise, emergent bilingual students are assessed annually until they meet reclassification criteria.

What are TELPAS Alternate ratings?

Five alternate levels per domain, Awareness, Imitation, Early Independence, Developing Independence and Basic Fluency, plus a composite rating. They are not interchangeable with regular TELPAS ratings and should not be reported on the same scale.

How is TELPAS Alt scored?

The test administrator marks one of five descriptions, A to E, for each of the 40 Observable Behaviors, based on the student’s most consistent performance. TEA converts each domain’s points to a scale score from 600 to 1000 that sets the level, then combines the four levels into a composite rating.

Is there a TELPAS Alt manual?

Yes. TEA’s 2026-2027 TELPAS Alternate Test Administrator Manual covers participation, test security, accommodations, response modes, training and how to rate students. The inventory, classroom examples, descriptors and glossary are separate documents on TEA’s TELPAS Alternate Resources page, which lists an educator guide as coming soon.

When is TELPAS Alt given in 2027?

From February 15 to March 26, 2027, the same six weeks as TELPAS. All ratings must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Central on March 26. Results reach district testing coordinators on April 6, 2027, and families in the Family Portal on April 26.

Which grades take TELPAS Alternate?

Grades 2 through 12. There is no TELPAS Alternate in kindergarten or grade 1, so those students take the TELPAS holistically rated assessment.

Does TELPAS Alternate satisfy federal requirements?

Yes. It fulfills the English language proficiency assessment requirement under the Every Student Succeeds Act for the students it serves.

Related Resources

• TELPAS Explained
• TELPAS Testing Window 2027
• TELPAS Proficiency Level Descriptors
• STAAR Alt 2
• ARD Meeting Guide
• LPAC Committee
• Dually Identified Students
• Alternate Assessment
• Texas English Learner Requirements
• English Learners in Texas

Conclusion

TELPAS Alternate is a small program with a precise rulebook, and most of what can go wrong is process: one committee deciding instead of two, an exemption stretched to cover difficulty, a domain left unrated. The August 2026 forms and a calendar built back from March 26 handle most of it. What they cannot fix is the instructional problem: the students who need the most individual communicative practice are in the poorest position to get it from a schedule built around adult attention.

Sources: TEA, TELPAS Alternate Resources; TEA, TELPAS Alternate Participation Requirements (August 2026); TEA, 2026-2027 TELPAS Alternate Test Administrator Manual; TEA, NAAR Eligibility Requirements (August 2026); TEA, Medical Exception Eligibility Requirements (August 2026); TEA, TELPAS Alternate Proficiency Standards; TEA, TELPAS Alternate Observable Behaviors Inventory; TEA, LPAC Decisions Educator Guide 2026-2027; TEA, District and Campus Coordinator Resources; TEA, Fall 2026 Program Overviews: TELPAS and TELPAS Alternate; TEA, 2026-2027 Student Assessment Testing Calendar; TEA, Statewide Summary Reports (2024 TELPAS Alternate); 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter BB; TEA, Proposed Amendments to 19 TAC Chapter 89, Subchapter BB (2026); TEA, Changes to Emergent Bilingual Identification and Reclassification Practices (TAA, July 16, 2026); TEA Emergent Bilingual Support, Reclassification of Dually Identified Students (September 2025); Texas Education Code, Chapter 48; TEA, Title III, Part A.

The Students Furthest From the Conversation

Statewide, the TELPAS Alternate group was 10,907 students in spring 2024, spread across every grade from 2 to 12, and the assessment comes around once a year. The paperwork gets done. The instructional question underneath it gets less attention.

These students need more exchanges, not fewer, and each exchange takes longer. Smaller settings help, but they do not close a gap that widens with every extra second of wait time a student needs. The adults are not the limiting factor by choice; there are only so many adult-minutes in a day.

So districts are looking for communicative practice that runs at the student’s own pace, with unlimited repetition and no queue. Telo AI is one example, offering adaptive conversation in English plus Spanish and French for bilingual and world language programs.

See how districts add individual practice that waits as long as the student needs: https://mytelo.ai/how-telo-works/

An alternate assessment exists because these students communicate differently, not because they communicate less. The districts that serve them well are the ones that give them somewhere to practice it, week after week.