Austin ISD officials announced Feb. 17 that the district has completed all requirements under an agreement with the Texas Education Agency after three years of work on improving special education services. This means the district has been released from state oversight.
“By elevating the quality of our evaluations and the integrity of our service delivery, we have turned a period of intense work into a profound opportunity to grow and deepen our commitment to the families we serve,” AISD Superintendent Matias Segura said in a news release.
The background
In September 2023, AISD officials accepted a proposal from the TEA for a state-appointed monitor. This followed the TEA notifying AISD in March 2023 that it would seek to implement a conservatorship due to the findings of an investigation of the district’s special education evaluations.
The agency found as of March 20, 2023, the district had more than 1,800 special education evaluations overdue, meaning 1,800 students were awaiting potential access to accommodations at school. Additionally, the TEA reported 40 instances of “systemic noncompliance” in which AISD did not meet special education needs in a timely manner, as previously reported by Community Impact.
In April, the district requested the agency make an informal review of the potential conservatorship, which would place a state-appointed conservator to direct actions within the district’s area of need. Taking a step down, a monitor was offered to the district in August 2023, meaning rather than the TEA appointing someone to direct actions, the agency would appoint someone to recommend action to district officials.
How we got here
District officials highlighted the following accomplishments over the past three years during a news conference at St. Elmo Elementary School on Feb. 17:
- Completed over 10,000 evaluations and meetings
- Grown the special education team by more than 250 specialized providers and evaluators
- Provided 120,000 hours of professional learning to establish shared practices and high expectations to educators
- Launched a new digital management platform to organize reporting of each child’s services
- Hosted over 100 family engagement sessions to education families on the special education process
"Our goal was to get to 100% compliance, and back in December we reached that goal and have maintained it ever since," Segura said Feb. 17.
What's next
District officials said during the news conference that "sustainability" and "maintaining momentum" is the goal as they move ahead and that this accomplishment is "not a finish line."
This means after the work on improving systems the past few years, the district will focus on tasks such as ensuring teachers have the skills to implement curriculum as well as removing barriers for students, such as providing accommodations.
"As we look ahead, we are shifting our focus from building systems to deepening instructional impact and quality of services for students," AISD board President Lynn Boswell said during the news conference. "[AISD] is committed to maintaining all state and federal requirements while offering an education that goes well beyond the legal minimum. ... We are moving toward a future where every student in [AISD] has the tools and the support necessary to thrive."
