Tag Archives: special education

“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 →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Feds intervene in Texas special education mess

Superintendents begin speaking out against special education limits

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The leaders of two of the state’s biggest school districts are calling on the Texas Education Agency to stop penalizing districts for giving specialized education to more kids than the agency has deemed prudent. Superintendents Michael Hinojosa … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Superintendents begin speaking out against special education limits

School district to join lawsuit over STAAR test

Posted on September 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. Ben Becker, the Houston father who helped organize a legal fight over last year’s STAAR exams, has repeatedly challenged superintendents over the last few months to join him in court to fight for their students. Becker describes his group … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on School district to join lawsuit over STAAR test

TEA will review special ed limits

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said Wednesday that his office is reviewing a monitoring system that sets an 8.5 percent benchmark for special education enrollments and strictly audits school districts with enrollments that exceed that rate for … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Some officials take note of special education funding restrictions

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start. The vice chairman of the State Board of Education, a Houston school board member, a key state senator and scores of parents and disability advocates all expressed strong opposition on Monday to a Texas Education Agency performance-based … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

“Denied”

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This is worth your time to read. During the first week of school at Shadow Forest Elementary, a frail kindergartner named Roanin Walker had a meltdown at recess. Overwhelmed by the shrieking and giggling, he hid by the swings and … Continue reading →

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments