Audit of AISD’s special education cites inadequate data system, need for training
Although the Austin school district has made significant progress in reducing its massive special education evaluations backlog, it still has significant work left to do in creating comprehensive services for students, according to a recently released audit into the district's program.
The audit, conducted by Houstonbased Stetson & Associates Inc., points to an inadequate data system for tracking special education services, clear compliance and quality problems districtwide, and the need for more respectful relationships with parents.
The audit is one of several requirements imposed on the Austin district as part of an agreement with the Texas Education Agency to improve the district's chronic backlog of special education evaluations.
While the audit notes the district's current efforts to improve the program, the report highlights several challenges that contributed to the district's past four years of noncompliance, such as high turnover in superintendents, “errors in leadership and judgment” and “serious lapses in providing legal guarantees.”
The district, facing a lawsuit and state-level complaints from parents, agreed in September to a Texas Education Agency order that holds the district to strict timelines to clear its overdue evaluations and requires its staff to undergo significant training, in addition to other mandates.
Once a parent requests their child be assessed for special education services, districts must evaluate the child within a strict timeline. The Austin district for years has struggled to complete those evaluations on time.
The audit noted that, while the district has made efforts to hire special educators through compensation increases and contracted staff members, gaps remain. It also found that the district's inadequate data system is “at the crux of the district's current difficulty to
monitor compliance,” and a significant chunk of parents didn’t feel like their children were being adequately served.
Of the parents that responded to a survey, 28.7% disagreed or strongly disagreed that the district’s evaluation process was efficient and effective, according to the audit. In addition, 22.8% of responding parents disagreed or strongly disagreed that their children were receiving the special education service they needed.
Many parents reported an “‘Us versus Them’” attitude, according to the audit.
“We had some administrator training to do,” Stetson’s President and CEO Frances Stetson said. “We have some educator training to do.”
For some community special education advocates, the report isn’t telling them anything new.
There are many, many parents who are frustrated with the district’s handling of special education, said Lisa Flores, an Austin district parent who is active in special education advocacy.
A parent’s experience in the Austin district can be vastly different depending on the school their child attends and the parent’s economic status, she said.
“If you do not have the means and you’re counting on the services, your frustration level is going to be much higher,” Flores said.
It’s good to put the district’s needs in writing, said Deborah Trejo, who has two children in Austin district schools.
“I think none of it is surprising, and it’s all consistent from what we know to be true,” Trejo said. “It’s validating.”
And much more work needs to be done, she said. The district seems to have been focused on clearing backlogged evaluations, she said.
“The transformation that is required goes beyond assessments,” Trejo said.
Last year, the district reduced its backlog of overdue evaluations by 83%, from 1,780 in January to 306 in December.
The audit was one of many milestones the district must reach to comply with the TEA’s order, including creating a long-term plan and a more robust data monitoring system.