School supplies sit on a table as Houston Mayor John Whitmire partners with Shell and the Houston Food Bank to launch the 16th annual Mayor’s Back 2 School & Health Fair to encourage eligible Houston-area families to register for the program in Houston, Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
Jacob Lujan/Houston Chronicle
Three days before Houston ISD’s new school year begins, some families say they’re still confused about which school their child will attend after the district’s special education overhaul.
In July, the Texas Education Agency ordered HISD to meet with families before it reassigns about 5,000 students with disabilities to new campuses. Many families said they were waiting for answers days before the first day of class.
Special education advocates told the Chronicle that the district mistakenly enrolled some students at the wrong campuses over the summer, while some families said they had not been granted in-person meetings with their child’s special education committee before the school year began — which is what the TEA ordered in its investigation into parents’ complaints.
Article continues below this ad
While some families said they were cautiously optimistic about their child’s new school, others planned to keep their child home until they received more information or pull them from the district entirely.
“I think that it’s going to be a hot mess,” parent Naxhiely Ramon said. “I know that the first couple of weeks are usually rocky, but this has introduced a whole other level of uncertainty.”
TEACHER CONVOCATION: HISD’s Mike Miles doubles down on controversial special education overhaul
Changes prompt state investigation
In May, HISD announced that it would reassign around 5,000 students with disabilities to new campuses for the 2026-27 school year, prompting parent complaints and a federal investigation.
Article continues below this ad
In July, the TEA determined the plan had violated federal regulations for students with disabilities. The state then ordered HISD to meet with families to review students’ individualized education programs — or IEPs, legally binding documents outlining services for students with disabilities — before reassigning them to new campuses.
This month, several parents said the district called to ask to change their students’ school assignments over the phone. Schools and parents can agree to amend some parts of an IEP without hosting a full ARD meeting, said Shannon Rosson, the PACT Project Director for the Partners Resource Network, a nonprofit for parents of children with disabilities.
“That would probably be the easiest way for them to do it,” Rosson said. “A lot of people would say that’s not going to be best practice.”
Some parents, including Mark Stadnyk, requested an in-person meeting instead. But Stadnyk said he worried some families wouldn’t have the time, knowledge or resources to object to the call or consider other options.
“I would just be surprised if they knew to object,” Stadnyk said. “We have those options because we have the finances and the means to think it through and, you know, identify those (options), but I think a lot of other parents don’t.”
Article continues below this ad
Others left their meetings with the district unsatisfied.
Ramon met with district staff in an ARD meeting after she filed a complaint with the TEA. The meeting brought together the committee members responsible for deciding her son’s special education program.
Despite her concerns, her son was moved from Hamilton Middle School near her home and reassigned to Marshall Middle School, which is more than three miles away.
As a result, Ramon’s son will have to use HISD’s bus system for the first time. She said the district has not yet given her his transportation schedule.
“It just seems like most people’s TEA complaints got a response saying ‘Yes, the district is in the wrong.’ But basically, the remedy is, ‘Just hold an ARD meeting to formalize the fact that you guys don’t have a choice anyway,’” Ramon said.
Article continues below this ad
Cautious optimism
HISD has said the move will create smaller class sizes, provide more resources and improve staffing. At the district’s teacher convocation Wednesday, state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles defended the program. Citing his own speech impediment as a child, Miles said the plan would raise expectations for students with disabilities while grouping them with similarly aged peers.
“There’s a belief in the American education profession and some in the community — that these kids can’t learn. That we need to be easy on them,” Miles said. “And I’m not saying we won’t love them and serve them, but we also need to raise their proficiency and reach their potential.”
The district did not respond to requests for comment.
Article continues below this ad
Some parents said they were cautiously optimistic about the changes. Last year, Stadnyk’s daughter was set to have around a dozen children across several different grade levels in her class. At her new school, she’ll learn along with seven students within one grade level of her own, he said.
Parent Meredith Yaker said her daughter was assigned to two different campuses and then unenrolled from HISD altogether this summer. Now, she’s been correctly assigned to her new school, Pin Oak Middle. Despite the initial chaos, Yaker said she felt the school would be prepared to take her daughter Monday.
“I think it will work out,” she said. “Although there has been a lot of drama, I will say Pin Oak does seem to be very competently run. I think that if there are any snafus, I think they will be worked out, but solely at the campus level.”
SNAP CHANGES: HISD forced to end universal free lunch at 33 schools
‘Bracing for it’
Some parents have decided to take action. Dina Kushaliyeva met with her daughter’s special education committee, where she said they were unable to tell her who her daughter’s new teacher would be or whether they had reviewed her IEP before the year began.
Until she receives answers, Kushaliyeva said she plans to keep her daughter out of school.
“I am not going to put my child in harm’s way. That’s not going to happen,” she said.
Parent Jessie Dugan opted to leave the district entirely. Dugan has vigorously opposed the overhaul to the point that she was escorted out of the May board meeting when she refused to stop speaking after her time expired. She said her family has considered leaving the district ever since the takeover began. The special education overhaul was the last straw.
Dugan’s twins would have been sent to separate schools under the program. This summer, her family relocated to Seattle, where they’ll attend the same campus.
“A lot of times, people with autistic kids do have to move,” Dugan said. “But with what’s happening to HISD, it’s just sad that the fourth largest school district in the country is going to basically abandon all of their (special education) kids.”
The start of the school year often comes with challenges for special education parents, but the overhaul will only exacerbate them, advocates told the Chronicle.
Jane Friou, president of the Houston Special Education Parent Association, said the group plans to host press conferences, attend the board of managers meeting next week and encourage families to report any issues with enrollment, transportation or special education programs during the first week of school.
“I’m just kind of bracing for it,” Friou said. “We’ve never had changes like this, on this kind of scale, this last minute with this much pressure and heat on the situation.”