EL PASO, TEXAS (KFOX14/CBS4) — After weeks of pushing for permission to help keep her 8-year-old son safe at school, Kristina Waldrop says the Ysleta Independent School District has agreed to allow her child to wear an AngelSense GPS tracking device in class but she says the fight isn’t over.
As KFOX14/CBS4 first reported, Waldrop had asked Ysleta ISD to let her son, Ethan Cuevas, who has autism, wear an AngelSense GPS tracking device during the school day.
Waldrop said Ethan has a history of elopement, meaning he wanders away from supervised and safe environments.
“I think it can happen at any time to anybody,” Waldrop said.
Two weeks ago, the district denied the request, citing a Texas law, HB 1481, that took effect this school year, which restricts tracking devices that could violate other students’ privacy through recording.
Julia Spencer reports on YISD reverses decision on Angelsense (Credit: KFOX14)
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The denial also meant the device was not included in Ethan’s Individualized Education Program, or IEP.
Waldrop said that after another meeting with the district’s Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) committee on Tuesday, Ysleta ISD changed course and allowed the AngelSense tracker under a signed agreement.
She said the agreement limits how the device can be used during school hours except in emergencies.
“It’s an agreement that states that I won’t activate the one-way or two-way communication during school hours unless there’s an emergency,” Waldrop said.
AngelSense GPS tracking agreement between Ysleta ISD and Kristina Waldrop. (Credit: KFOX14/CBS4)
Despite what Waldrop described as medical documentation and concerns raised through several meetings, she said the district still does not believe the device is necessary for her son’s safety.
Waldrop adds that the ARD committee noted in her son’s IEP that it “doesn’t think that it’s necessary for his safety,” which she said she disagrees with.
“I don’t think that’s a valid reason at all. I have documented proof on the medical side,” Waldrop said.
Waldrop said the tracker is now included in her son’s Individualized Education Plan, but she believes it is not being treated as part of a safety plan.
“It is a part of his IEP, but it’s not really a part of it as a safety plan, which that’s what I’m pushing for,” she said.
She described the approval as progress but said she plans to keep pushing for the tracker to be recognized as a safety necessity in the IEP.
“Well, I feel great because I could decide on with it being approved now like that it’s just official, you know, but there’s some more pushing that we have to do,” she said.
According to Ethan’s IEP, the ARD committee noted: “The tracking device is not required as assistive technology for the provision of a free appropriate public education also known as FAPE.”
ARD Committee note in Ethan Cueva’s Individualized Education Program (IEP). (Credit: KFOX14/CBS4)
Freedom Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) is a legal right under the Individuals Disabilities Education Act.
Waldrop said she believes the device is necessary for her son to learn.
“I do believe it is necessary for Ethan to have this to learn because if he’s not that safe, he’s not able to learn,” she said.
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Waldrop also said the district is treating the tracker as an accommodation rather than a safety necessity.
“They have it apart as more like an accommodation just to allow me to have it,” she said. “I feel like they see it more as a convenience than as a safety necessity.”
Waldrop said her concern is that without the tracker being formally deemed a safety necessity, it could be removed later.
She said she wants safety protocols included in the IEP now because her son “is gonna be in school for a long time” and she wants protections “from here on out.”
KFOX14/CBS4 reached out to Ysleta ISD to ask:What prompted the district to reverse its initial decision and allow the use of the AngelSense GPS tracker in this case?Will the district permit the use of AngelSense GPS trackers more broadly across the district?Why is the device not considered necessary under FAPE?Will the district consider including the device in the student’s IEP?
Ysleta ISD in a statement said:
By law, Ysleta ISD cannot comment on specific student matters. With regard to approval of assistive technology on campus, those requests are considered by each student’s respective ARD committee and are deliberated and approved on a case-by-case basis.
Waldrop said her next step is pushing to have the device officially listed as part of her son’s safety plan and not just an accommodation.
The mother encouraged other parents who believe their child needs a GPS tracker at school to advocate for it.
“Ask for it and just do it,” she said. “And if you believe that your child needs it, then you know what’s best for your child.”
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