Plano is Collin County's largest city, and the county runs both early intervention and long-term disability services through the same organization, LifePath Systems — originally established in 1986 by the Collin County Commissioners Court as Collin County Mental Health Mental Retardation.

For school-age children, Plano ISD anchors the area, but fast-growing neighboring districts like Frisco and Allen ISD also reach into parts of the greater Plano area, each running its own Child Find process.

Statewide programs, numbers, and rights are on the Texas page. This page adds the local entry points that are specific to Plano metro (Collin County).

Early intervention under 3: Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)

Texas's Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) program accepts referrals for any child under three showing a developmental delay, and that referral can come from a parent, a doctor, or a caregiver with no diagnosis required beforehand. In Collin County, ECI is run by LifePath Systems, which also covers Fannin, Grayson, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties; families can call 972-562-0331 or email ECI_Referrals@lifepathsystems.org with the parent's name, contact details, the child's name and date of birth, and a description of the concern, after which a referral coordinator calls to schedule an evaluation. Services are delivered where a child normally spends time — home, a childcare center, or another familiar setting. State rule gives the program 45 calendar days from referral to complete the evaluation and IFSP, with services starting within 28 days of a parent's signature, and the evaluation carries no charge for any family.

• Texas Early Childhood Intervention (ECI)
• Referral phone: 972-562-0331 (LifePath Systems ECI referral)

New to early intervention? Read the plain-language guide first.

School districts and special education

Texas districts and charter schools operate under a federal Child Find obligation to seek out and evaluate students suspected of having a disability, covering ages birth through 21, entirely free of charge to the family. Families generally trigger this by submitting a written evaluation request to the campus or special education office. Plano ISD is the dominant district locally, but Frisco and Allen ISD also serve parts of the broader Plano area, so confirm which one covers your address.

• Plano ISD — district phone 469-752-8100; page directs birth-to-3 families to Collin County ECI at 972-562-0331 and describes a Student Support Team process for school-age evaluation requests
• Frisco ISD — dedicated Child Find page separate from the district's broader special education section
• Allen ISD — publishes separate pages for special education, special services resources, and Section 504

IEP or 504 · If you disagree with the school

Evaluation and diagnosis pathways in Plano

We have not yet verified a hospital or university evaluation program with public intake information in Plano. That is a gap in our research, not a sign there is nothing here — and it does not stand between you and an evaluation. The school district evaluation above is free, and early intervention under 3 does not need a private diagnosis first.

How assessment works · What to do while you wait

Disability services and waivers: LifePath Systems — Collin County's behavioral health and IDD authority

LifePath Systems was established in 1986 by the Collin County Commissioners Court, under its earlier name Collin County Mental Health Mental Retardation, and its own site states it is "the designated behavioral health and intellectual disabilities authority for the county" — the role Texas calls a LIDDA elsewhere in the state. Families reach IDD services at 972-727-9133 to begin eligibility determination and enrollment onto the HCS and Texas Home Living Medicaid waiver interest lists. The CLASS, DBMD, and MDCP interest lists work differently and are joined instead through the state's own line, 877-438-5658.

• LifePath Systems — Collin County's behavioral health and IDD authority
• Phone: 972-727-9133 (IDD services) · 877-438-5658 (state interest list line)

Local organizations that help Plano families

• LifePath Systems — 24/7 Crisis Line — 1-877-422-5939, for behavioral-health emergencies, separate from routine IDD and ECI intake
• Autism Society of Texas — statewide information and referral line, 512-479-4199; Spanish support available
• SPEDTex — the state's special education parent helpline: 1-855-773-3839, weekdays, with email and live chat
• Disability Rights Texas — the state's federally designated protection-and-advocacy agency; direct legal help when rights are violated
• Navigate Life Texas — state-supported plain-language resource site for Texas families of children with disabilities

Documented waits and access notes

Wait times change. Each note below links to the public source it came from — confirm current status directly with the program.

• Plano ISD and the other Collin County districts have 45 school days after signed parental consent to complete the full individual evaluation, a window Texas law extends whenever a student is absent three or more school days running. (source)
• The district's Admission, Review, and Dismissal committee — Texas's name for the IEP team — must then meet within 30 calendar days of the finished evaluation report to decide eligibility. (source)
• Collin County families with a Texas-regulated commercial plan can see their child's ABA benefit capped at $36,000 annually starting the year the child turns 10, with no cap before then. (source)