After nearly three years of work to overhaul special education services, Austin ISD said it has completed all required steps under an agreed order with the Texas Education Agency and has been formally released from state oversight.
TEA oversight began in 2023 after a state investigation found Austin ISD had systemic failures to meet the needs of students with disabilities.
In a press conference, Superintendent Matias Segura said the district’s systemwide response helped change the state’s approach from a potential conservatorship to monitored support.
“That immediate system-wide effort was the reason we were able to shift the conversation from a state-mandated conservator to a partnership with tea monitors,” Segura said. “To a place where tea would trust that we had the capacity, the focus, and commitment to dedicate the resource to something that we had not historically proven we were capable of doing.”
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Austin ISD said its work went beyond compliance and focused on improving the special education experience for students with disabilities and their families, with an emphasis on quality, consistency, and care.
“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,” Segura said.
As part of the effort, Segura said, “We’ve completed more than 10,000 evaluations and meetings to ensure that every student received tailored support and services without delay.”
Austin ISD also said it established districtwide standards for campuses, designed and implemented a districtwide support plan, and grew its special education team by more than 250 specialized providers and evaluators supported by 120,000 hours of professional learning.
The district said it launched a new digital management platform to improve accurate and timely reporting of services and hosted more than 100 family engagement sessions.
Austin ISD pointed to early academic indicators it said show progress for students with disabilities, including 2024-25 STAAR results in third-grade reading that outperformed the state average by 3 percentage points. The district also reported double-digit drops in the percentage of students with disabilities needing academic interventions in second-grade reading and numeracy, and fewer first graders were flagged as at-risk for dyslexia on the First Grade Dyslexia Screener.
Austin ISD said being released from the agreed order is a milestone, but not the end of the work. The district said its next focus will be deepening inclusive practices and ensuring students receiving special education services have access to high-quality, specialized instruction aligned to grade-level standards.