Texas ordered to expand plan for special ed
State has until Dec. 1 to ensure students receive proper access
The U.S. Department of Education chastises Texas for not doing enough to ensure special education students receive services and sets a Dec. 1 deadline for a new plan.
AUSTIN — Texas officials aren’t doing enough to fix systemic problems with special education, according to a U.S. Department of Education letter sent to the Texas Education Agency on Friday.
The letter sets a Dec. 1 deadline for a state plan to monitor districts to ensure students are getting proper access after a Houston Chronicle investigation in 2016 found the state had illegally set up what amounted to an 8.5 percent cap on the number of Texas students receiving special education. About 13 percent of students nationally are enrolled in special education.
“I don’t know that TEA can meet that Dec. 1 deadline,” said Steven Aleman, a policy specialist from Disability Rights Texas, a group focused on helping people with disabilities to learn their rights.
Such a plan would mean setting a policy on how the state will evaluate school districts, what standards the state will expect districts to adhere to, and what the consequences would be for failing to meet standards, Aleman said. He said the TEA has yet to unveil any such plans for parents and stakeholders to vet.
“A lot of school districts and a lot of parents are still a little foggy about what do they do now,” Aleman said. “We do believe there
needs to be a continued concerted effort to educate both parents and school districts about what is new and what is expected to be different in special education.”
The TEA did not respond late Friday to a request for comment about meeting the Dec. 1 deadline.
The federal government also asked in the letter for the state to begin reviewing special education policies at a sample of Texas schools and prove how it will ensure districts communicate about their responsibilities to parents. The Office of Special Education Programs plans to visit Texas early next year to monitor the state’s progress.
“It’s important to note that the development of the plan relied heavily on extensive input from parents, students, teachers and education stakeholders,” said state Education Commissioner Mike Morath. “We continue to adhere to a commitment to transparency and engagement throughout the plan’s implementation.”
The original corrective action plan was estimated to cost the state $212 million over the next five years as Texas sought to increase school monitoring to ensure districts are meeting special education laws, train teachers and staff, increase family engagement and find previously unidentified students who may be eligible for special education services.
Education officials expect it will take years and billions of dollars to bring special education services up to national standards. In the 2017-18 school year, the state budgeted $5.1 billion to provide special education services to 477,281 students, or 9.2 percent of all students, state records show. The state estimates it will need to serve an additional 189,000 students over the next three years.