AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, Austin ISD requested an informal review of the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) decision to assign a conservatorship to oversee the district's special education services.
The TEA announced the proposed conservatorship earlier this month after concerns the school district was not completing enough evaluations for students eligible for special education. The district has acknowledged it was lacking and welcomed collaboration with TEA.
But the move has been met with skepticism from the teachers’ union, which has concerns over what TEA will bring to the table.
Austin ISD’s request for an informal review allows the district to share information with TEA about progress in recent months and the district’s plans for resolving the backlog of special education evaluations. The informal review is an option provided by the TEA as part of the process recommended in its report.
“We understand the severity of this problem and take full ownership in addressing it,” Interim Superintendent Matias Segura said. “We want to ensure the best possible alignment between our efforts as a district and the efforts of the State for the ultimate benefit of our students.”
In a statement, Austin ISD said it was implementing an “aggressive plan” for expediting evaluations by creating financial incentives for special education staff and inviting the TEA’s collaboration.
“We believe that the least disruptive way to build momentum toward sustainable, transformational improvements to special education is to allow time for our comprehensive special education plan, which was developed earlier this year, to fully take hold,” Segura said.
“Superintendent Segura and our board of trustees have made clear that doing right by our special education students and families is a top priority,” said Arati Singh, president of Austin ISD's Board of Trustees. “We welcome collaboration and support from TEA and our community to continue our forward momentum and deliver on our promise to address the backlog and establish a sustainable system that best supports our students.”
Austin ISD said already this school year, it has completed 45% more special education evaluations than it did the entire previous school year.