HISD families still seek answers on special education overhaul before school starts
TEA ordered HISD to review plans for about 5,000 special education students, but families say they still do not know where children will be placed.
The Texas Education Agency ordered district conservators to review plans affecting about 5,000 Houston ISD special education students. Houston ISD families were still waiting for clear answers about special education placements, evaluations and support as the new school year neared. The overhaul has left many parents uncertain about where their children will attend school and what services will be in place on day one.
The changes are meant to create smaller class sizes, better staffing and stronger support for students with disabilities. Parents and disability advocates have pushed back, saying the reassignments uprooted vulnerable students, disrupted services and moved children away from familiar campuses and support systems. In May, parents, students and community members packed HISD board meetings to oppose the plan, and parents asked the board to pause the sweeping overhaul that would move thousands of special education students.
The Texas Education Agency required HISD to review thousands of students’ individualized education programs and meet with families before consolidating special education services. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights opened a disability-discrimination investigation into HISD in May.
Families who still do not have answers are being pushed toward the district’s front-line contacts. Families should start by calling their school first, then use central department contacts if they need more help navigating district services. For evaluation questions, a school must evaluate a child in all areas of suspected disability once parental consent is given, and the ARD committee, the special education decision-making team, must meet after the evaluation report is complete to review it and determine services.
A similar dispute in 2022 involved T.H. Rogers School and profoundly disabled students.
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