The districts were among 10 recipients of the Innovative Services for Students with Autism grants totaling over $800,000 per partnership, with nearly $250,000 designated specifically for LCISD, Special Education Executive Director Tiffany Mathis said at the meeting. The grant is issued by the Texas Education Agency for a year-long program with the possibility to renew for a second year.
“This initiative aims to deepen staff knowledge and understanding of autism, enabling them to effectively use instructional and behavioral data to improve planning and student outcomes, while fostering positive behaviors through highlighted structured classrooms,” Mathis said.
How it works
The program aims to coach teachers at 15 campuses that host special education compliance programs through an online curriculum, complimented by classroom coaching, observations and feedback from behavior analysts, Mathis said.
These teachers will then work with general education teachers at separate workshops to improve instruction across diverse populations with the specialized focus of autism. Additionally, workshops for parents will be offered for continual support outside the classroom.
“Most grants are not as specific; it's more widespread where you use it for any disability criteria, but this one is primarily for students with autism. So this one is unique,” Mathis said.
How we got here
The grant encourages collaborations across districts with the potential to replicate successful practices across the state. Mathis said the training provider, Star Autism Services, facilitated the grant partnership with CBISD after being approached by LCISD for support with autistic students.
She said LCISD’s self-contained programs for students across disabilities are in compliance with district and state standards, making the district a suitable resource for CBISD’s smaller program, which only serves 47 autistic students compared to LCISD’s 1,161 in 2023-24 according to TEA data.
“With the coaching and support we receive at Lamar [CISD], if it's successful, they are going to take that data that Columbia-Brazoria [CISD] will turn in to say ‘This is a really good use of funds and programs,’ so that they could spread it across the state,” Mathis said.
Next steps
Following this approval, the trainings will begin in January.
