Focus should be on fixing the failing system of special ed

Ask any parent of a child with a disability and they will tell you, special education in Texas is broken. The system is set up to dissuade schools from identifying students who need special education services because of implied “caps” on how many students should be served. When students are identified for special education, the common response from schools is “we have a place for that,” contrary to the law and educational best practice.

Most parents have to fight to ensure their child is receiving basic services. Parents of children with disabilities are desperate to find help for their child — any help. This is a tragedy in Texas, but the bigger tragedy is that some state lawmakers are capitalizing on the desperation of this vulnerable group and using them as a reason to pass school vouchers.

I read recently that Senate Education Chair Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, and state Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, claim that school vouchers (“Education Savings Accounts”) would offer students with disabilities “a more attractive scenario” and even promote having separate “special needs charter schools.”

As a mother who has fought for inclusive education for my daughter for years, I am shocked to hear lawmakers proposing legislation that would segregate my child in private or charter schools.

The “more attractive scenario” for my daughter is for lawmakers to require that public schools follow the laws already passed.

Every study ever conducted supports the fact that inclusive education is better for students with disabilities than being educated apart from typical peers. Why then would lawmakers support proposals that contradict what we know is best for students with disabilities?

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recently referred to some students being “trapped in a school that can’t help [them] get over a disability.” Schools are not required to help students “get over [their] disability,” but are required to provide special education services to help children learn despite their disability. If students are “trapped” in schools that do not provide required services, then why aren’t lawmakers ensuring compliance for the benefit of all students? Every child cannot and will not qualify for a voucher. So what happens to those who are left behind in public schools? Legislators should focus on fixing the failing system they have allowed to operate in dysfunction for years instead of offering a few students a $5,800 ticket out. This is not enough to pay tuition at any school, and will certainly not provide access to an inclusive school, since there are almost none of those.

This is a critical time for Texas special education. Will legislators throw in the towel on public education, pull these students out of their communities and tuck them away in schools with kids just like them? Or will they understand that inclusive education allows children with disabilities the opportunity to be productive citizens, contributors to the Texas economy, and demand that public schools prepare them to be part of it?

There actually are school districts in Texas working to develop solutions to the problems we face in special education. In Fort Bend ISD, we are working to offer inclusive pre-school in a model that can be easily replicated around the state. We have developed systems to remove barriers for identifying students who need special education services. We are working with teachers to implement co-teaching in classrooms.

I implore our state leaders to identify districts that have innovative programs and replicate those across the state; provide incentives to districts for innovative programming; reward best practices in schools and districts; require that universities prepare all teachers for instructing all students, including those with disabilities; and encourage partnerships between public schools and private and faith-based organizations. These are solutions that will benefit all Texas students in special education.

It is time to stop our culture of segregation of students with disabilities in Texas, through vouchers and in other ways, and support the “more attractive scenario” of supporting education solutions that foster inclusion of all children.

Tassin serves as president of the Fort Bend ISD board of trustees and is a mother of three daughters, one of whom has a disability.