Tag Archives: special education

HISD seems determined to ignore TEA on special ed

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. 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 … Continue reading →

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TEA rejects HISD’s proposed special ed changes

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

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. … Continue reading →

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Vouchers aren’t all that for special ed students

Posted on July 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Not at all surprising. One of the biggest selling points of Texas’ new private school voucher program was that it would support students with disabilities, offering up to $30,000 in state-funded accounts for tuition and other services. The possibility drew thousands of applications … Continue reading →

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More on Mike Miles’ AI obsession

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

There’s so much wrong with this, I’ll limit myself to my three main complaints. While many school districts across the country are reducing screen time for students, Houston ISD is going in the opposite direction with its educational technology, prompting … Continue reading →

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HISD parents ask for pause on special ed changes

Posted on June 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. A group of Houston ISD families is asking the state-appointed board of managers to pause the district’s overhaul of special education, citing concerns about transparency and the board’s own policy. The changes, called the Special Education Success Program, would move … Continue reading →

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More on the HISD special ed mess

Posted on May 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is from last week, I meant to get to it sooner, but you know how it goes. When Antonio Cruz Trejo opened his son’s backpack last Friday, he found a hand-painted Mother’s Day gift — a major milestone for … Continue reading →

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US Department of Education investigating HISD over special ed changes

Posted on May 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Awesome. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has opened an investigation into Houston ISD after the state’s largest district began to centralize its special education department. HISD announced Wednesday that students in some special education programs would … Continue reading →

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House passes Abbott’s voucher bill

Posted on April 18, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. The Texas House gave initial approval early Thursday to a bill that would create a $1 billion private school voucher program, crossing a historic milestone and bringing Gov. Greg Abbott’s top legislative priority closer than ever to reaching his … Continue reading →

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The uncertified teacher boom

Posted on March 23, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege creates problems for the Lege to try to fix. Lawmakers want to turn the tide on the growing number of unprepared and uncertified teachers by restricting who can lead Texas classrooms. But school leaders worry those limits will … Continue reading →

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Here’s the voucher proposal

Posted on January 25, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is. Get ready to be sick of the whole debate by the end of the session. The Texas Senate revealed a bill on Friday to create an education savings accounts program, a top priority for Gov. Greg Abbott … Continue reading →

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HISD’s progress on special education

Posted on January 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big part of the takeover mandate, so making progress on fixing the identified issues with special education is a must. Houston ISD’s state-appointed superintendent and Board of Managers have maintained a laser-like focus on improving schools’ state-issued … Continue reading →

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Another HISD threefer

Posted on October 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, too much news and too little time… HISD special ed teachers say new instructional model under Miles is too rigid to support children. Brian Tucker started getting help for a speech impairment and learning disability in second grade … Continue reading →

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HISD releases its special education plan

Posted on October 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see. Houston ISD’s administration rolled out a long-anticipated list of fixes to its special education programs Thursday, unveiling plans aimed at rectifying the district’s persistent problems with serving students with disabilities. In a presentation to HISD’s state-appointed school board, … Continue reading →

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Once again with questions about Mike Miles’ finances

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

More good work from Houston Landing. New Houston ISD Superintendent Mike Miles’ plans for the district are built on the promise of more. More pay for teachers. More staff in classrooms. More security officers on campuses. But all of those … Continue reading →

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A couple of thoughts as the HISD school year starts

Posted on August 29, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron editorial board has them, and so do I. So, in the spirit of the first day, we are setting out three of our own classroom expectations and concerns. We’ll skip the niceties too. Miles needs to control the … Continue reading →

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Special ed is part of the HISD takeover, too

Posted on August 5, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that fixing special education was also part of the TEA takeover mandate for HISD. How’s that going so far? Well, the parents of the special ed kids say they’re not seeing much of anything as yet. For … Continue reading →

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Special ed and the TEA takeover

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This part of the reason for the TEA takeover of HISD is less well known and has some adherents among the key stakeholders, but it’s still quite controversial and far from clear that the TEA will do any better. Many … Continue reading →

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Where HISD stands today

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In a holding pattern, waiting for direction. In the winter of 2019, two committees composed of Houston ISD employees, parents and advocates issued recommendations for how the district should tackle two of its thorniest issues: campus funding practices and access … Continue reading →

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HISD being investigated over special education

Posted on July 10, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Flagging this for later discussion. Texas Education Agency officials are deep into a wide-ranging investigation of Houston ISD’s special education department, examining whether district staff violated numerous federal laws and state rules that help ensure students with disabilities get vital … Continue reading →

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No one knows when schools will open

Posted on May 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, if Mike Morath doesn’t know, then no one knows. Texas schools might start bringing students back to classrooms on staggered schedules in the fall. Or they might have some students show up at school while others continue their … Continue reading →

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The state of special education at HISD

Posted on September 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Still a lot of work to be done. Houston ISD’s quality of special education services remains in “grave” shape due to inadequate staffing, confusion among employees and a lack of accountability, according to a district-appointed committee reviewing the quality of … Continue reading →

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Who’s to blame for the special education limits

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Lege gets a finger pointed at it. After a federal report blasted Texas for failing kids with disabilities, educators and public education advocates are pointing the finger directly at state legislators who, they argue, first suggested capping special education … Continue reading →

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Halfway through the session

Posted on August 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The House is doing House things, and that’s fine. Brushing aside concerns that they are not moving swiftly enough to enact Gov. Greg Abbott’s 20-point agenda, Texas House members opened the second half of the special session Wednesday with a … Continue reading →

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Senate wrecks school finance bill

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what they do. The Texas Senate has scrapped much of a proposal to revise how the state funds education in place of a plan to create a school voucher program for children with disabilities. The bill passed the Senate … Continue reading →

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Senate approves special ed reform bill

Posted on April 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas Senate moved Wednesday to ban state officials from ever again imposing a cap on the percentage of students allowed to receive special education services. The chamber voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 160, putting the legislation … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit threatened over special education limits

Posted on February 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The clock is ticking. Disability advocates on Monday threatened to sue the Texas Education Agency unless the state permanently ends its special education enrollment benchmark within the next month. The advocates said immediate action is necessary because of the “devastating … Continue reading →

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Sung and Vilaseca sworn in at HISD

Posted on January 15, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The HISD Board is back at full strength. As Anne Sung and Holly Flynn Vilaseca took their oaths of office and became Houston ISD’s newest Board of Education trustees on Thursday, their husbands swaddled their months-old babies in one hand … Continue reading →

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“Denied”: HISD and special education

Posted on January 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There are problems here as well. Superintendent Richard Carranza announced Thursday that the Houston Independent School District has decided to conduct a detailed review of the way that it serves students with disabilities. The effort will include asking “independent, third-party … Continue reading →

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Here’s your chance to give feedback on special education

Posted on December 3, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The feds are coming to Texas to hear what you have to say about it. The U.S. Department of Education is sending representatives to tour Texas and take comment from school community members on special education, continuing to look at … Continue reading →

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TEA officially backs off special education limits

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see about that. Facing increasing criticism over its special education enrollment benchmark, the Texas Education Agency this week told schools that they must provide services to all eligible students with disabilities and that they will no longer be penalized … Continue reading →

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It’s bill-filing season

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off. Today is the first day of early filing in the Texas Legislature. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate may begin filing the bills that will be discussed when the legislature convenes in January 10, 2017. So … Continue reading →

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“Denied”, continued

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s Part 2 of the Chron’s reporting on special education limits. A few days before school began here in 2007, district administrators called an emergency staff meeting. The Texas Education Agency had determined that they had too many students in … Continue reading →

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TEA says no more special ed limits

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see about that. The Texas Education Agency has agreed to stop auditing school districts that give specialized education to more than 8.5 percent of students, officials announced Wednesday, cheering experts, advocates and lawmakers outraged by the policy. In a … Continue reading →

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Feds intervene in Texas special education mess

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The federal government on Monday ordered Texas state officials to eliminate an 8.5 percent benchmark on special education enrollment enforced in the state’s 1,200 school districts unless they can show that it had not kept children with disabilities from … Continue reading →

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