Good. Especially good for the affected students and parents.
A Texas Education Agency investigation found Houston ISD violated federal requirements for students with disabilities, forcing the district to review thousands of students’ individualized education plans before it overhauls special education.
The district’s plan, which would send about 5,000 students with disabilities to new campuses, sparked multiple complaints from Houston families and a federal investigation into potential discrimination.
The agency has ordered HISD to review individualized education programs for affected students, including any “potential harmful effects of any proposed placement;” meet with families to review changes before moving campuses; and offer training to all district-level special education staff.
Parent Stefanie Naranjo filed a complaint with the state after her son learned in May he was reassigned to another school next year — even though his individualized education program said he would attend his current campus, Sinclair Elementary. He was among about 5,000 students with disabilities who received abrupt reassignments.
In response to her complaint, the TEA ordered HISD to take corrective action for Naranjo’s child and make “systemic corrections for all students with disabilities” in the district. It warned that it may impose more sanctions if HISD fails to comply.
The agency said in a July letter that HISD violated two provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which guarantees students with disabilities a right to a free and appropriate public education. It cited federal regulations requiring students to be educated near their homes and a meeting with the student’s IEP team — which typically includes teachers, parents and advocates — before changing their campus assignment.
In its investigative report, the agency said the district “cannot unilaterally amend a student’s IEP.”
“It requires the (district) to ensure that, unless the student’s IEP requires some other arrangement, the student is educated in the school that he or she would attend if not eligible for special education,” the agency wrote. “The student cannot be moved to the new campus until the IEP team has met and remedied these errors.”
See here, here, and here for the background. HISD has until August to report on the changes they’ve made in response and could face “additional interventions or sanctions” if they’re not fully in compliance by October. I don’t know what that means and I hope to not find out. Note that there is also a federal investigation related to the proposed HISD plan, which as far as I know is still ongoing. That could mean further required action on HISD’s part to undo what they were going to do. Feels like a pretty big loss on the district’s part, and a well-deserved one. Let this be a lesson in engaging stakeholders before charging ahead with massive changes.