Before Houston ISD can consolidate its special education services, it has to review thousands of students’ individualized education programs and meet with their families. That’s the explicit order from the Texas Education Agency, which investigated the district’s plans.
But HISD said it is already reviewing student records and plans to meet with families as needed during the school year — after it moves students with disabilities to new campuses.
The district’s response has concerned some families who still hope to block the district’s special education overhaul and remain at their original campuses when school starts in August. Experts say HISD’s plans seem to contradict the state’s order and could trigger further sanctions, even as the district remains under a state takeover and conservatorship.
“TEA is not telling Houston, ‘You can’t do this.’ They can. … It’s just, ‘If you’re going to do this, here’s what has to happen first,” said Colleen Potts, supervising attorney for Disability Rights Texas. “It doesn’t seem to me in (HISD’s) guidance, that there’s any promise of holding an IEP meeting for all of these kids.”
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Individual parent complaints rarely spark districtwide change, said Jane Friou, who is an HISD parent and longtime special education advocate. Friou said the TEA’s response marks a “huge win” for families, who launched a “pressure campaign” against the overhaul after it was announced in May.
Still, Friou said the investigation and response do not answer perhaps parents’ most pressing question: where will their child attend school in August? She said even if the district planned to fully comply with the state’s orders, she believes it would be unlikely for HISD to successfully meet with every family in the few weeks before the new school year begins Aug. 10.
She said the conflicting guidance from TEA and HISD could leave students’ original and newly assigned campuses unprepared, potentially forcing many students to stay home.
“Parents feel like phase one was a win. The first day of school is phase two,” Friou said. “Our goal … is to empower as many parents to continue to keep fighting.”
In its letter to HISD, the TEA threatened further state sanctions if HISD does not comply with its order for corrective action by Oct. 9.
Potts said it is unclear what sanctions the state could impose on a district that is already under a state conservatorship and takeover.
See here for the previous update. I suppose this is the sort of thing that can happen when you appoint a Superintendent who then isn’t accountable to anyone. I think the most likely outcome is what we’re seeing now, that HISD is going to continue on with its plans and continue to claim that it’s fully in compliance with the TEA, and whatever happens with the students and their IEPs, happens. The variables for that are 1) the US Department of Education responds to the complaint filed with them in a more forceful manner; 2) someone files a lawsuit; and 3) the potential for Day One chaos grows to the point where HISD voluntarily backs off of at least the plans to shuffle kids around. Place your bets.