The Houston ISD board of managers received an overview of a new plan to improve the district’s special education program following a 2020 report from the Texas Education Agency that found "significant, systemic and widespread" shortcomings in its handling of special education.
The overview
Stacy Venson, HISD deputy chief of special education, outlined a plan aimed at improving the district’s special education department during the board’s Oct. 5 workshop. Venson said the plan contained several key targets for the department, including:
- Improving the initial timeline of evaluating students for special education classes
- Strengthening communication with parents and providing monitoring reports for special education services
- Improving the quality of instruction for all students receiving special education services
“There’s no magic pill here,” Miles said. “This is a big ship that we're going to have to turn.”
While Miles said he believes the department is heading in the right direction, several parents of special education students in the district voiced their concern over the new plan during the workshop.
How we got here
In September 2020, the TEA published the results of an investigation into the district’s special education department. According to the report, investigators found a 10-year pattern of HISD officials failing to properly identify students for special education services and failing to provide specialized services for those with disabilities.
The following year, TEA Commissioner Mike Morath appointed two state conservators to oversee the district’s special education department.
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In March, TEA officials listed their concerns on the district’s special education department as a factor in the state’s eventual takeover of the district.
A closer look
According to Venson, each of the key targets in the plan contain several specific actions aimed at helping HISD officials improve the district’s special education department.
To help improve HISD’s evaluation timeline for special education students, Venson said district officials will:
- Require all staff to complete the TEA’s special education evaluation training
- Communicate the TEA’s special education evaluation process through social media and the district’s website at least twice per semester
- Complete weekly and biweekly reports on various aspects of the department
- Ensuring parents receive responses to their questions regarding special education services within five days
- Conducting an annual parent summit each year
- Conduct quarterly observations of special education teachers
- Monitor the completion of progress reports for students with individualized education programs
- Train principals to meet special education compliance standards included in their evaluations
What they’re saying
Several parents of special education students spoke during the workshop to voice their concerns on the state of the department.
Veronica Cohetero, a parent of three children receiving special education services from the district, said her 3-year-old son had been instructed to walk to his classroom across campus without supervision after arriving at school.
“My son crossed the whole campus to get to his classroom, and in between his class there are doors that led to the street,” Cohetero said. “Mind you, he is 3 years old and in a special [education] class.”
Cohetero, whose son attends Benavidez Elementary School, said she was disappointed in the leadership on campus for allowing her son to walk through the hallway unsupervised.
Jane Friou, a parent of an HISD special education student, questioned why special education metrics included in this year’s principal evaluations will not be extended to future years.
“I would like to ask why special education metrics are only being used in the principal’s evaluation for one school year and not every year after that,” Friou said. “This seems very inadequate and short-sighted.”
Community Impact has reached out to HISD to confirm whether special education metrics will be included in future principal evaluations.
