STAFFING SHORTAGES CAUSE BACKLOGS AISD officials said a shortage of educational diagnosticians and licensed specialists in school psychology is one of the reasons for the backlog of student evaluations for special education.
AISD has failed to meet state deadlines to provide special education evaluations starting in 2018 and worsening during the pandemic. DELAYED EVALUATIONS
The Texas Education Agency has a process to determine if a student needs to receive special education services. Austin ISD is being investigated for its backlog of evaluations for these services. EVALUATION PROCESS EXPLA INED
gotten worse” each year. “The critical personnel shortage, particularly in employing the needed numbers and quality of licensed spe- cialists in school psychology, presents a maddingly intractable situation that is the focus of the daily work of the department,” said Frances Stetson of Stetson & Associates—the independent consulting firm hired by AISD to con- duct a review of the special education department. How we got here Heather Merritt, a former AISD spe- cial education teacher at Travis Early College High School who still works in the district, has worked for AISD since 2004. “It has been difficult, and we recog- nize that. We are ready and willing to help our students with disabilities, and we want to make sure they have the services they need,” Merritt said. At an April 3 board meeting, AISD attorney Pam Kaminsky said there were several factors that contributed to the backlog of evaluations for spe- cial education, including an evaluator shortage and an increase in referral rates for the department. Kaminsky said Austin was not alone in struggling to conduct evaluations during the pandemic. As of press time May 22, AISD interim Superintendent Matias Segura and board President Arati Singh did not return requests for comment. The plan Members of a labor union for AISD employees, Education Austin, spoke out against the TEA’s plan at a press conference April 3. “What we need from the state is money—money to fill the positions to support our kids in this district,” Edu- cation Austin President Ken Zarifis said. Zarifis said he and his colleagues
EVALUATION REQUESTS EVALUATIONS COMPLETED
Positions filled 29%
72 total positions*
100%
Positions available 71%
THE EVALUATION JOURNEY
*AS OF MARCH 15
99.93%
The district evaluates the child with 45 days of receiving permission from the parent AISD HAS BEEN IN “NONCOMPLIANCE” STATUS WITH THE TEA OVER ITS FAILURE TO COMPLETE EVALUATIONS ALONG THE STATE TIMELINE SINCE 2018, PROMPTING THE PROPOSED CONSERVATORSHIP A parent or campus official requests a student receive an evaluation for special education services
SOURCES: AUSTIN ISD, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
1
93.25%
completed special education evalua- tion. Le said she plans to fight for her daughter, whom she believes is not ready to move beyond high school due to the district denying her the special education services she needs. Le said the report she received from the dis- trict is incorrect as it does not include all of her daughter’s disabilities nor needed accommodations. “She’s so close to graduating and not at all prepared,” Le said. What happened On March 31, TEA officials announced they would seek a conser- vatorship over AISD. Under the con- servatorship, the board and interim superintendent would remain in place, but the conservators would have deci- sion powers. AISD has failed to correct com- plaints against the district since July 2019, according to the TEA report. Since then, a lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Disability Rights Texas—a nonprofit advocating for people with disabilities. DRT attorney Kym Davis Rogers said as a result of the delayed evaluations, “many students with disabilities did not receive any special education ser- vices, and others received services based on out-of-date evaluations.” Rogers said the “situation has only
Pandemic begins
2
24.05%
63.21%
evaluations completed from May 2022 through March 2023 4,000 new evaluations requested between January 2023 and March 2023 1,263
The district notifies the parent of the outcome of the evaluation within 30 days
3
Once a child is deemed eligible for services, an educator creates an Individualized Education Program and services are provided
CONTINUED FROM 1
4
Agency records. A TEA report released on March 31 cited 40 instances of “systemic noncompliance” where the district failed to meet its special edu- cation obligations in a timely manner. While the district awaits a review by the TEA—asking for a less severe form of intervention—families are making choices for their students. Hendrix said the process dragged out for more than a year. She made the decision to move him to the Texas School for the Deaf but says she has to wait for the evaluation to be completed. Another AISD parent, Marie Le, said her 17-year-old daughter has also waited more than a year for a
Special education staff monitor the student’s progress
5
The district reviews the student’s IEP annually
6
The district re-evaluates the student every three years
7
SOURCES: PARTNERS RESOURCE NETWORK, TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
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