Civil rights groups allege CCISD discriminates against students with disabilities
Four civil rights groups have filed a complaint with the Texas Education Agency alleging that Corpus Christi ISD's truancy practices discriminate against students with disabilities.
According to the complaint from Texas Appleseed, Texas Civil Rights Project, Disability Rights Texas and National Center for Youth Law, 13% of the students CCISD referred to truancy court during the 2021-22 school year were receiving special education services.
The complaint alleges that truancy court proceedings often push students out of school and into GED and other alternative educational options.
“Unfortunately, Texas continues to use court processes for interventions that need to happen at the schoolhouse and not the courthouse,” Texas Civil Rights Project legal director Dustin Rynders said. “Corpus has some of the worst statistics in terms of ordering kids out of school and truancy court proceedings.”
CCISD spokesperson Leanne Libby said in an email Wednesday that the district has not yet received notice from the TEA regarding this complaint.
“We are aware of reports that a complaint has been made to the Texas Education Agency, and are glad to fully cooperate with the agency as needed,” according to the district’s statement. “Due to student privacy laws, we cannot speak publicly regarding specific disciplinary matters.”
The TEA confirmed Wednesday it has received the complaint regarding CCISD.
“TEA has received a complaint related to the allegations inside Corpus Christi ISD. This is an ongoing matter and TEA cannot comment further,” according to the TEA statement. “TEA will review the complaint and determine appropriate next steps. Complainants will be updated of any next steps during this process.”
What is truancy?
Under Texas law, students between 6 and 18 are required to attend a public school. Exceptions include if the student attends a private or parochial school, has a temporary physical or mental condition that makes attendance infeasible, is expelled or is preparing for a high school equivalency examination.
If a student fails to attend school on 10 or more days within six months in the same school year, they are in violation of compulsory attendance law. Before that, schools alert parents and initiate truancy prevention measures after three or more missed days within a four-week period.
After initiating truancy prevention measures, schools can refer students to truancy court. Schools have discretion when it comes to filing truancy complaints, defining “excused” and “unexcused” absences and determining the set number of minutes that would result in a truancy filing if a student misses part of the school day.
Judges also have discretion in which remedial measures to order as punishment.
Why does the complaint focus on Corpus Christi ISD?
Rynders described the state’s response to truancy as “fundamentally flawed.”
Rynders said that many of the students who are missing school have disabilities, are homeless or poor, have to work to support their families or are pregnant or have children.
“Nothing about criminalizing a parent or requiring a student to go to court resolves any of those underlying issues that are usually the reason children are missing school,” Rynders said.
The complaint cites data indicating that school districts in Nueces County refer students to truancy court at higher rates than other Texas districts.
According to the complaint, which cites Texas court data, Nueces County was responsible for 11% of all truant conduct cases in the state in 2022, despite making up only 1% of the Texas population.
The complaint compares Corpus Christi ISD to other Nueces County school districts, noting that CCISD referred 3% of students to truancy court, while West Oso ISD only referred 0.8% and Flour Bluff ISD only referred 1%.
The complaint also states that CCISD recommends students attend a GED program at a higher rate than neighboring districts.
Between 2015-2016 and 2021-22, Corpus Christi ISD referred 6,785 students to truancy court, with 780 of those students receiving special education services. During the 2021-22 school year, 13% of students referred to truancy court received special education services, according to the complaint, citing responses to public information requests.
"What’s at a different level than I’ve seen at other courts is the percentage of students that the judge is encouraging, promoting or requiring to drop out of school for GEDS or to go to an alternative education program or some kind of charter program,” Rynders said.
At the same time as the CCISD complaint, the groups also filed a separate complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice against Bonham ISD alleging discrimination against Black and disabled students.
What does the complaint allege about CCISD?
The complaint alleges five violations:
CCISD did not identify or evaluate students suspected of having disabilities, contrary to the requirements of IDEA and Section 504.
CCISD recommended students for GED programs without proper reevaluation.
CCISD failed to provide necessary special education and related services to address attendance issues.
CCISD did not accommodate students whose absences were related to their disabilities.
CCISD did not implement required truancy prevention measures in violation of Texas law.
According to the district, all disciplinary action should be addressed equitably.
“CCISD educators are dedicated to helping all students progress in their education to the fullest extent of their capabilities,” according to the CCISD statement. “Additionally, CCISD addresses discipline within the Student Code of Conduct and expects all student disciplinary action to be addressed equitably.”
The complaint is based on court observations, data collected through public records requests and the experiences of three students referred to truancy court by CCISD.
The students are referred to only through initials in the complaint. According to complaint, one student has dyslexia and depression, but has not been identified for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or provided with an Individualized Education Plan.
This student was not re-evaluated by the school despite receiving a discharge note from a behavioral hospital demonstrating struggles with depression. Two months after being released from the mental health hospital, CCISD filed a truancy complaint against the student.
According to the complaint, the judge in the case indicated the student would have been ordered into a GED program if they were 16 years old.
The complaint alleges that another student did not receive a special education evaluation, despite being diagnosed with depression after being removed from their home by Child Protective Services. This student was referred to truancy court and when the absences continued, the student was held in contempt.
The complaint alleges that a third student was never evaluated or offered services, despite the student having anxiety and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The student was referred to truancy court and court-ordered to complete a GED program.
The civil rights organizations say they have observed court proceedings involving CCISD students dozens of times over the past two years. According to the complaint, CCISD students are often threatened with GED orders or encouraged to enroll in a half-day charter school.
“On multiple occasions, our organizations witnessed students explain in court that they wanted to remain in school and earn a high school diploma, only to have the school district recommend that the student be forced out and the court then order it,” the complaint reads.
The complainants are asking that the TEA investigate CCISD and issue corrective action. The complaint also requests that CCISD revise policies and staff training protocols and provide students with compensatory education and reimbursement for fines.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas Education Agency asked to investigate CCISD truancy practices
