Austin ISD asks state to reconsider naming special education conservator over district

The Austin school district is requesting a review of a Texas Education Agency report released March 31 that recommended placing a state conservator to oversee the district’s special education department and help fix an accumulating backlog of evaluations.

The district, however, in an announcement Monday afternoon said it needs more time to carry out plans it has in the works to complete hundreds of backlogged special education evaluations.

The discussion in Austin is unfolding amid the backdrop of a TEA takeover of the Houston school district, a decision that has been in the works for years and that the state said was fueled by low academic scores at some schools.

Unlike the situation in Houston, the TEA isn’t proposing a takeover of the Austin district. Instead, the conservator would place a handful of people to help oversee Austin’s special education department.

Grumet: Want to tackle special education backlog? Hire more specialists to screen students

Instead of a conservator, the district would like the TEA to install a monitor to report on but not bind the district’s action, officials said Monday afternoon.

The district has a severe backlog in assessing whether students should get special education accommodations, but since January it has implemented a new system to track those evaluations, give special education staffers financial incentives and create systemic changes, interim Superintendent Matias Segura said in a statement.

“We believe that the least disruptive way to build momentum toward sustainable, transformational improvements to special education is to allow time for our comprehensive special education plan, which was developed earlier this year, to fully take hold,” Segura said.

The TEA announced its Austin conservatorship decision less than 24 hours after the district extended Segura’s interim appointment to lead the district through next year, in part to bring more sustained attention to the special education backlog.

More: Austin district vows collaboration through state's special education involvement

The Austin district has faced parental complaints about lengthy wait periods for children to receive evaluations for special education services. An evaluation is a key and a federally mandated first step to determine whether a child needs additional support in school.

As of March 20, 1,808 students were waiting past the deadline for either an initial evaluation or a reevaluation, in which staff members assess new or different services for a student, according to the district.

The district completed 4,000 evaluations between May and the end of March, according to data.

Disability Rights Texas, a nonprofit that advocates for people with disabilities, in 2021 sued the district over its backlog of evaluations. The case remains in the court system.

In a letter, Austin school board President Arati Singh asked the TEA to delay its decision about a conservator and instead place a monitor over the district.

“We hope our plan, including the work already underway, will demonstrate to TEA that we fully own the challenges before us, that we have the ability to fix the problems, and that we have a clear path forward,” Singh said. “We are openly holding ourselves accountable to the success of these efforts and know our Austin community and TEA will do the same.”

Unlike the Houston takeover, conservatorship oversight would be specific to special education. People appointed by the state would make binding decisions about processes related to the district’s special education department.

The district’s request will now go before Education Commissioner Mike Morath for consideration as he makes his final decision about placing a conservator.

If the district doesn’t agree with Morath’s decision, officials can appeal to the State Office of Administrative Hearings, a district-hired attorney told Austin school trustees during an April 3 meeting.

While some parents awaiting special education evaluations have welcomed the potential for change, others are worried that the TEA — which has drawn federal ire over its own treatment of special education students — won’t be helpful.

Members of Education Austin, the union representing district employees, came to an April 3 board meeting to voice their opposition to TEA involvement in the district.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: AISD asks Texas Education Agency to reconsider conservator