HISD is asking the board for $17 million for special education.

This comes after a recent report exposing the mess that is HISD special education. I know this mess all too well.

What HISD needs is true leadership. Leaders who inspire others to be great, who support everyone on the team and believe in their potential. Great leaders see the strengths of the team and understand the team’s weaknesses. Great leaders accept responsibility and blame when things go wrong.

HISD is doing the opposite. They do not accept responsibility and say the findings are “factually and legally incorrect”. I would like to know how so because I personally know families who struggled to get evaluations, students who failed because they didn’t have the supports or services they needed and this was all before Covid. I’ve sat in meetings where the people making decisions had no clue what the law really says and they won’t admit they don’t know.

There has been an increase in the number of higher-level management positions that have been created in the last few years. How does a new director or new manager position help students on campuses who are failing? Have these new positions improved the progress students have made? If so, how? I’d like to see the data.

Special education needs an action plan. They need SMART goals just like those they teach to special education teachers when discussing IEP goals. If anyone understands the importance of having a plan and goals, it should be the special education department.

HISD need to accept responsibility. This is their opportunity to make a change and put students first. Things cannot change if they don’t understand and accept that there is a problem. What exactly will $17 million do to change anything? They want to hire more therapists but what about the problem of filling current positions. What resources do students really need to be successful? They need to ask parents what is working at schools and what isn’t. Consider looking at the schools within the district whose students in special education are making progress and see what is working.

What can we do?

Write the school board and express your concerns about giving $17 million to a department that has been failing for years. Ask for a plan that is based on data, identifies the deficit areas (and areas of strength because there is always a strength somewhere) and gives goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable and time limited. Monitoring progress is also key in knowing if the plan is working. Creating more positions to row a sinking boat isn’t going to fix the problem.