Texas Education Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\nA few things go into these increases, according to Wylie ISD officials. The district\u2019s professional development courses have helped teachers identify students that might need testing, resulting in the identification of more students who meet the criteria for special education. Additionally, the school district is growing, and with that, the number of students needing learning accommodations trends up as well. Furthermore, in 2023, House Bill 3928 moved dyslexia under special education. <\/p>\n
All students who meet the special education program criteria require an IEP, or Individualized Education Plan. The plan includes performance levels, annual goals, accommodations and services the student receives. The plans are put together and adjusted by the student\u2019s teacher and presented at an annual meeting with a committee that includes the teacher, parents, a district representative, general education teacher and service providers.<\/p>\n
![\"Dorsha](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/7MEQBS2V65BFRLPYW74P3PNBTA.jpg\")
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Dorsha Richmond, a paraprofessional for students with disabilities, helps Structured Academics and Interpersonal Learning or SAIL students with a writing and coloring assignment at Watkins Elementary on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Wylie.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
To support the increase in students, Wylie is focusing on what the teachers need. They provide \u201clearn and earn\u201d monthly trainings led by the director of special education. Teachers and paraprofessionals are paid for every three hours they participate. These trainings are based on observations, requests, and communication between teachers and the department.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy teachers have a voice,\u201d Sarah Jusiewicz, a learning specialist at Wylie ISD.<\/p>\n
Jusiewicz is in her second year with Wylie and is the first person in this position. She visits with teachers and schools regularly to learn about successes and struggles within the programs. <\/p>\n
Related<\/p>\n
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Budget issues<\/p>\n
The successes at Wylie come at a price, literally. Last school year, Wylie spent nearly $8 million over its special education program allotment funds. It has over-spent every year for the last five years. This forces the district to be creative with its budget. The expenditure for the special education department comes at the expense of the general education budget. Initiatives that have been decreased in the past are new buses and raises for teachers. <\/p>\n
Staffing is one of the biggest expenses, and support staff is one of the most important parts of a successful class for students who need accommodations according to Jennifer Wiseman, the principal at Watkins Elementary. The success of all of these programs depends on small staff-to-student ratios. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou find those good people,\u201d Wiseman said. \u201cAnd you do what you can to make them stay.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Miranda\u2019s classroom, there is one teacher and three paraprofessionals or paras. Miranda puts lesson plans together and teaches original material, sometimes to the class as a whole and other times to groups split up by grade level. <\/p>\n
The paras work with groups of students by grade level, one with kindergarten and first, one with second and one with third. They each have three to four kids. They move among the students, sometimes at their request, sometimes when students look like they\u2019re struggling with a task. <\/p>\n
The paras go in and out of the classroom when their students go to rotations and gen-ed classes. When all the paras are in the room, the class operates on a ratio of four teachers to 11 students.<\/p>\n
Lorena Ovalles\u2019 son is a second grader in Miranda\u2019s class. This year marks his second year at Watkins and his third in a SAIL classroom. In his time at Watkins Elementary, Ovalles has seen his personality and adaptability grow. <\/p>\n
![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Q2CYPZTRU5HFVL7G2WKZELNLYY.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Jessica DiMaggio, an education for students with disabilities paraprofessional, watches a Structured Academics and Interpersonal Learning or SAIL student put the tips of his index fingers together at Watkins Elementary on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Wylie.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just really happy he\u2019s where he\u2019s at,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Her son is a very regimented kid who thrives on a schedule. Many of the students in Miranda\u2019s class are. They all have their schedules printed out in their folders that they go over each morning so they know what to expect throughout the day. <\/p>\n
Background politics<\/p>\n
In October 2024, Texas cut $607 million from School Health and Related Services, a program that gives financial reimbursements for health-related services to families of children who qualify for Medicaid. It helped cover services such as counseling, physical therapy and specialized transportation.<\/p>\n
The state budget cut for SHARS came after a 2017 federal audit report found that Texas school districts had overbilled Medicaid between October 2010 and June 2011. The report demanded that the state agency refund the federal government almost $19 million dollars. The state health department appealed, but the motion was dismissed in 2023.<\/p>\n
Wylie ISD felt an impact from the SHARS budget cut in 2024. It received $3 million from SHARS prior to the change and only $376,000 after, a funding decrease of nearly 90%. The SHARS went to Wylie\u2019s general operating funds, which allowed them to use the money however the schools needed to. School year 2024-25 was also the first year they began operating under a budget deficit plan, which focuses on cutting costs and bringing money in. The new plan was not directly related to the SHARS cut. <\/p>\n
Over the summer, Abbott signed House Bill 2 which gave $8.5 billion to Texas public schools. This includes $834 million from special education reform according to a news release from the governor\u2019s office. House Bill 2 is the biggest budget increase for public schools since 2019.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/YQCV6GWPUJEXBBJBGG5AJVZQA4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A paraprofessional assists a Structured Academics and Interpersonal Learning or SAIL fill in a ballot during an Election Day lesson at Watkins Elementary on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Wylie.<\/p>\n
Angela Piazza \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
\u201cNow is the time to make Texas number one in educating our children,\u201d said Abbott at the time. \u201cHouse Bill 2 ensures that our schools are funded better than ever, teacher pay and student funding are at all time highs, reading and math performance will improve, and students will be better prepared for the workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the new funds did not go to the general operating funds, which would allow districts to use money for what each district individually needs. <\/p>\n
\u201cOverall the budget was not helped,\u201d said Scott Roderick, chief financial officer for Wylie ISD. \u201cWe\u2019d probably be in a better budget position without House Bill 2.\u201d <\/p>\n
The new bill increased the salaries of teachers with specific experience levels, something that Roderick said the district was grateful for. However, additional funding did not provide enough for all other support positions, such as paras, counselors or nurses, to receive a raise as well. With this, Wylie passed a $4.2 million compensation package that further increased their budget deficit.<\/p>\n
Some parts of HB 2 will not go into effect until next year and are based off data from the current school year. For the 2026-27 school year, special education programs will change from a placement-based system to a service intensity-based system. The change will mean that services should be more individualized to each student. There will be eight tiers of support based on daily attendance according to the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities. <\/p>\n
Wylie does not know how much money they will receive for their students. They\u2019re hoping to see an increase in funds but with the new tier system, it\u2019s possible they\u2019ll receive less per student than they are currently.<\/p>\n
Despite budget issues, schools have continued to feel like they can reach out to the district for support. Jennifer Wiseman, the principal at Watkins Elementary, primarily asks for more paraprofessionals when it comes to increasing support for students with disabilities. <\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn\u2019t,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat I appreciate is that they sit down and listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
After hours<\/p>\n
Thursdays are Miranda\u2019s late nights. She tries to keep her work at work so she can focus on her family when she\u2019s home. <\/p>\n
First she met with her paras. They went over goals and plans from the week and talked about any adjustments that might be needed. They figure out activities that can be done independently by groups when they don\u2019t have a para or Miranda with them. Task boxes work well. Small plastic boxes with colorful cards, some in the shape of ogres or animals, that have fabric fasteners for the kids to match questions to answers. Math boxes have addition and subtraction problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe use a lot of Velcro in this classroom,\u201d Miranda laughed as she demonstrated how the kids use a laminated card with coins to learn about money.<\/p>\n
Now Miranda\u2019s the only one left in room K11. Her eyes fixate on her computer screen going through curriculum plans from the gen-ed teachers to make sure they align with her student\u2019s IEPs. She does this for each student and each grade level. <\/p>\n
She moved to a table in the corner of the room, pulling out folders and methodically flipping through them. Her paras document behaviors and goal progress weekly. They technically only have to document every other week but they like to stay on top of things. Miranda ensures that any goals that hadn\u2019t been met were incorporated into the next week\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n
Miranda does a lot of work and she knows it. But seeing the small wins and helping her students navigate setbacks makes the effort worth it. She said she feels privileged to be invited into their space and their world. At the end of the day, the students are what matters, Miranda said, and logistics aside, she\u2019ll do what needs to be done to support them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With her head on a swivel, teacher Jazen Miranda watched eight kids take a seat on colored squares…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151,960,163,8696,27,1292],"class_list":["post-106320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news","tag-collin-county","tag-education","tag-special-needs","tag-texas","tag-wylie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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