What Texas PDSES covers
A one-time $1,500 special-education grant where TEA reviews every purchase. Goods sit on a specific printed list, whole categories are flatly out, and price thresholds want a written justification; services are approved case-by-case on educational benefit.
7 things you can bill for
The everyday categories Texas PDSES pays for. This is the shape of what’s allowed — the specifics, caps, and edge cases live on Texas’s official list.
- Textbooks, curriculum & workbooksCore instructional materials.
- One computer + one tabletPer student, plus educational software.
- Sensory & regulation itemsNoise-cancelling headphones, weighted lap pads, timers, AAC devices — under the price thresholds.
- TutoringStated exactly as you were approved to provide it.
- Speech therapyBy an approved provider.
- Occupational therapyBy an approved provider.
- Desks, chairs & organizersWhen tied to direct learning.
The parts that catch people out
None of these mean “not allowed” — they’re the caps, exclusions, and fine print inside categories that otherwise qualify. Click any one to read why.
Whole categories are flatly out
Cleaning supplies, general home goods & appliances, home security/cameras, smart speakers & streaming (Alexa, Roku, Firestick), general furniture, food & drink (even bottled water), and medical supplies are all excluded.
One computer + one tablet, period
Extra devices beyond one computer and one tablet per student won't be allowed.
Over a price threshold? Justify it in writing
Headphones $250, printers $400, monitors $300, desks $300, chairs $200, sports/AV $100 — above the line, attach a written educational-benefit justification or it's blocked.
Services aren't on the printed list
The guidelines PDF itemizes goods only: devices, exclusions, price thresholds. Tutoring, speech, and OT are approved case-by-case on direct educational benefit; SPEDTex's FAQ names them as examples, but no published list of allowed services exists.
ABA therapy is contested — check with SPEDTexcontested
Sources disagree: a 2026 guide says ABA isn't covered (a medical service), an older SSES page listed it, and the current guidelines don't mention it either way. Don't assume — confirm with SPEDTex before listing it.
The 2.5% fee is yours
The ClassWallet fee is the vendor's to absorb — it can never appear on the family's invoice.
Read Texas’s own list
This page is a plain-words summary of esadesk’s rules data. The program’s official document is the authority — it’s where caps, exclusions, and the latest changes actually live.
SPEDTex — PDSES Purchasing Guidelines