A majority of Houston ISD self-contained special education classrooms have met the district’s goals for size, staff-to-student ratios and number of grade levels per class, after the district rolled out a new program in August, district leaders said Sept. 10.
How we got here
HISD’s revamped Special Education Success Programs launched at the start of the 2026-27 school year, which began on Aug. 10 for students, as previously reported by Community Impact.
The new program reorganized classrooms for about 5,000 students who are enrolled in self-contained special education programs, which provide learning settings for students who need more support than a general education classroom can offer.
About 3,000 of the 5,000 self-contained classroom students are now receiving services at a different campus than last year, Superintendent Mike Miles said during an Aug. 10 news conference.
As previously reported, the Special Education Success Programs were designed so classes would have:
The impact
During the HISD board of managers’ regular Sept. 10 meeting, Deputy Superintendent Kristen Hole presented updated figures on the implemented Special Education Success Programs. According to Hole’s presentation, the program now features:
97% of classrooms with 15 or fewer students
95% of classrooms with ratios of 1 staff member for every five students
22% of classrooms with 2 or more grade levels, compared to 56% last year
“This is a huge step in the right direction,” Miles said during the meeting. “We're not done. We know there's going to be more training. There's some of the bugs to work out. But at the end of the day, already we see our … students with disabilities getting better instruction [and] engaged more.”
Hole said the district’s hotline for parents with questions about the Special Education Success Programs is still open. To contact the hotline, call 713-556-7042.
For more information on HISD’s special education program changes, click here.
Public input
Since the changes to HISD’s self-contained special education programs were announced in May, they have received mixed reactions from the public, as previously reported.
During the Sept. 10 meeting, a handful of community members spoke against the district on behalf of teachers who wanted to remain anonymous, with one speaker saying a teacher was concerned about the curriculum being used in the Special Education Success Programs.
“Our students deserve meaningful, rigorous instruction and every opportunity to grow, but rigor must also be accessible, individualized and appropriate,” the speaker said. “This curriculum does not appropriately address individual learning needs, abilities or allow flexibility for Individualized Education Plan goals.”
Remember this?
On May 8, the U.S. Department of Education announced an investigation into HISD’s special education department, according to a news release from the federal agency.
The investigation was launched because of allegations that by centralizing the district’s special education program, students with disabilities will be separated from the general student population, as previously reported.
A ruling in the investigation has not been announced as of press time Sept. 11.
