The Texas Education Agency has ordered Houston ISD’s state conservators to review its plans for 5,000 special education students, highlighting tensions over the treatment of students with disabilities in the state’s largest district.
The district has announced plans to consolidate special education services in fewer school campuses. But in a July 7 letter obtained by the Chronicle, the state agency told HISD to review thousands of students’ individualized education programs and meet with families before reassigning students.
If HISD does not take all corrective action by Oct. 9, it could face state sanctions, the TEA said.
In response, HISD said it was already reviewing student learning plans and would schedule meetings with parents, as needed, during the 2026-27 year — contradicting TEA’s order. Special education experts have said the conversations with parents should happen before such changes are made.
The district’s consolidation plan, known as the Student Success Program, would reassign around 5,000 students in special education to new campuses in the upcoming school year. The program would help create smaller class sizes with more resources and improve staffing levels, district officials have said.
“Every student will continue receiving the services outlined in his or her” individualized education program, HISD’s deputy superintendent Kristen Hole said in a news release earlier this month. “We will continue implementing these improvements while completing the reviews directed by TEA.”
“Recent public reporting has raised significant concerns regarding Houston ISD’s Success Program and the potential movement of students with disabilities to different campuses for the 2026–2027 school year,” the state agency said in the letter. “TEA is aware that families have publicly requested that Houston ISD pause implementation of these changes, and the agency is investigating multiple special education complaints related to this matter.”
In the letter, TEA acknowledged that school districts have the authority to move students in special education programs to different campuses. But since specific campus assignments are often written into students’ individualized education plans, the district should consult with parents before making such moves, the agency said.
The district should also consider the potential harmful effects of reassigning students with special needs, especially if a new campus is further from home, the TEA said.
State conservators have overseen HISD’s special education department since December 2020.
In the letter, the TEA called on those conservators to properly supervise the implementation of the new program and ensure that district staff receive training to “prevent future related instances of noncompliance.”
“Given the public nature of this matter, the number of potentially impacted students, and the agency’s ongoing review of related complaints, TEA expects conservator oversight of this work to be active, documented, and timely,” the letter read.