TEA official to head IDEA
Some skeptical since his office probed charter school network
IDEA Public Schools this week named as its lone finalist for superintendent a top Texas Education Agency official who oversaw an office that has been investigating the charter network over allegations former leaders had misused money and staff for personal gain.
The network’s board on Tuesday named Jeff Cottrill, who has served as TEA’S deputy commissioner for governance and accountability for the past three years, as the finalist, according a statement from IDEA. He is expected to begin serving as superintendent in June following a 21-day waiting period required by the state for superintendent appointments.
“Jeff is an education leader with tremendous gifts, heart and focus,” IDEA board Chair Collin Sewell said in the statement. “He is a veteran school administrator with valuable and diverse experience leading, overseeing, and improving school districts and charter schools throughout Texas.”
The charter network on Thursday issued a statement saying Cottrill had “recused himself from matters involving IDEA at the Texas Education Agency.”
“He has not been IDEA’S point of contact at the agency since we posted the superintendent position,” the statement said. “It’s worth remembering that one year ago this month, it was the IDEA board of directors that investigated the misdeeds of former IDEA executives and referred the matter to TEA and other authorities. IDEA will continue to cooperate with TEA and is prepared for any consequences that may result from the agency’s own investigation.” The TEA did not respond to a request for comment. It remained unclear as of Thursday when Cottrill recused himself, whether he still is on the agency’s payroll, and where that IDEA probe stood.
At least two elected officials expressed concerns about the charter network’s decision to hire Cottrill.
Georgina Cecilia Pérez, a member of the State Board of Education whose district includes 40 counties in West Texas, said the move “just stinks to high heaven.”
She questioned whether Cottrill officially had resigned from TEA yet and why the agency had not announced his recusal
only one who can decide what quality of life means to you, and for him, and where that line is.”
The parents considered the toll on their own life and that of the child, whom they named Frankie. The delivery itself would require fetal surgery and a cesarean section — a massively expensive combination involving weeks of bed rest. To support his medical needs, she likely would never work again. And the time and financial commitment would dissolve the prospect of having other children.
The parents looked deeper into Frankie's future. They would have to wait until his first birthday to measure the extent of his cognitive issues. Then, the frequent hospital visits. The reliance on others to perform basic tasks. Armstrong asked herself: How do you explain to a toddler that he needs surgery to replace a shunt in his brain?
“Letting him go was the kinder thing for him, as hard as it was for us,” she said.
It's unclear how many women in the United States terminate pregnancies because of fetal anomalies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not include a category for medical-related terminations in its surveillance data. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission collects information on abortions completed because of a “medical emergency” or “to preserve the health of the pregnant woman.” But that data is not readily available and does not specifically address fetal anomalies.
The dearth of information around this kind of abortion already creates a feeling of isolation among parents who go through it, experts say. The decision, and the associated grief, can be even more complicated for parents with so-called prolife values.
One Houston woman, who asked to remain anonymous because of the subject's sensitivity in her family, said her son and daughter-in-law considered themselves “pro-life” when their child last year was diagnosed with bilateral renal agenesis at 20 weeks gestation. The fetus was not developing kidneys, leading to a lack of fluid that is essential for development.
The child would not survive. The parents were tortured by their options: carry the child to term, only to watch him die, or terminate the pregnancy.
Ultimately, they decided a labor-induced abortion was the most compassionate choice, the woman said.
“It was with our support and agreement that it is more compassionate to abort, and the harder decision to make, that they decided on that option,” she said, adding, “Needless to say, this was not in the state of Texas.”
Like many parents who decide to terminate pregnancies for medical reasons, Armstrong initially felt alone in her experience. Then she realized most people hide their pain.
As a clinical social worker, she was inspired to redirect her career to help parents work through layers of shame, fear and judgment associated with “TFMR,” or termination for medical reasons. She and Fletcher, the doula, are now part of an international collaborative of women who offer TFMR support services.
Fletcher, an American living in Mexico, said her clients have been retraumatized by laws that make them feel like criminals. The mental health impacts — depression, anxiety and postpartum OCD — can ripple into their work life and relationships.
In some cases, it extinguishes their desire to have other children.
“It's just a huge amount of awful emotions that are thrown on top of what's already an immensely traumatic event for my clients,” she said.
Fletcher noted that, among pregnant patients diagnosed with fetal anomalies, many do not have the financial means to afford an out-of-state abortion. Their options will become even more limited if the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade.
Lacey Fisher, an Austin therapist who specializes in perinatal loss, worries about patients who feel forced to deliver medically fragile babies. She said they run an increased risk of developing mood and anxiety disorders associated with substance abuse, self-harm and suicide.
“A lot of people do make this decision out of compassion for their baby, and if we could see it that way, then people wouldn't view it as ‘Oh, you're just ending a life or murdering a baby,' ” she said.