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Students watch a Veterans Day program at Sugar Mill Elementary in Fort Bend ISD in Sugar Land, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Before Houston ISD can consolidate its special education services, it has to review thousands of students\u2019 individualized education programs and meet with their families. That\u2019s the explicit order from the Texas Education Agency, which investigated the district\u2019s plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n But HISD said it is already reviewing student records and plans to meet with families as needed during the\u00a0 school year \u2014 after it moves students with disabilities to new campuses.<\/p>\n The district\u2019s response has concerned some families who still hope to block the district\u2019s special education overhaul and remain at their original campuses when school starts in August. Experts say HISD\u2019s plans seem to contradict the state\u2019s order and could trigger further sanctions, even as the district remains under a state takeover and conservatorship.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cTEA is not telling Houston, \u2018You can’t do this.\u2019 They can. \u2026 It’s just, \u2018If you’re going to do this, here’s what has to happen first,\u201d said Colleen Potts, supervising attorney for Disability Rights Texas. \u201cIt doesn’t seem to me in (HISD\u2019s) guidance, that there’s any promise of holding an IEP meeting for all of these kids.\u201d<\/p>\n Individualized education programs, or IEPs, are legally binding documents that outline services students with disabilities must receive.<\/p>\n The district\u2019s new special education model, called the Student Success Program<\/a>, will send students who spend at least half of their time in self-contained classrooms to new schools when school resumes on Aug. 10. It affects about 5,000 students with disabilities districtwide. The program has sparked multiple complaints<\/a> from Houston families and advocates and a federal investigation<\/a> into potential discrimination.<\/p>\n AFFECTED BY HISD’S SPECIAL EDUCATION CHANGES? We want to hear from you.<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The TEA investigation, launched in response to\u00a0 a parent complaint, found HISD had violated two federal rules. The state ordered the district to review about 5,000 IEPs\u00a0and meet with families before assigning them new campuses. The agency found that\u00a0HISD “cannot unilaterally amend a student\u2019s IEP.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The district maintains that its special education overhaul will not affect students\u2019 individualized plans and will improve services by providing smaller class sizes, increased staffing and additional staff training.<\/p>\n “Every student will continue receiving the services outlined in his or her IEP,” HISD’s deputy superintendent Kristen Hole said in a release Monday. “The Student Success Program is designed to provide students with stronger instructional supports, additional resources, and learning environments that better meet their needs. We will continue implementing these improvements while completing the reviews directed by TEA.”<\/p>\n