Amid continuous reports of special education violations in the Lone Star State, the U.S. Department of Education has created a way for Texas families to share their special education experiences directly with the federal agency.
Families willing to share their special education stories with the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs may do so by emailing TXinquiry@ed.gov.
In recent weeks, multiple military families have shared their special education struggles with the Herald. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3IsJqCg.
Disability rights advocate Robbi Cooper, of Decoding Dyslexia Texas, said this development is a major step in the right direction for a state plagued with special education issues for the past decade.
“It’s just a little email address but I’m so excited about it,” Cooper told the Herald by phone Monday.
Cooper said she and other disability advocates have been asking the federal agency for a direct contact for families since the federal investigation into Texas’ special education programs began years ago.
“We’re really happy they (the Department of Education) finally kind of acquiesced to one of our asks we’ve been making since 2018 — to have a place for parents to share what’s going on, because it’s not necessarily the same thing that’s being reported to the (Texas Education Agency). School districts across the state are still pretty much doing things the way they want to.”
In 2018, a federal investigation by the Department of Education found Texas had effectively failed to educate special education students by denying students with disabilities the tools they needed to succeed in school — services students with disabilities are rightfully afforded under federal law. As of 2021, the Department of Education said Texas still had not fixed its special education compliance issues.
Without special individualized services, Cooper said students with disabilities are being left behind.
“We’re robbing kids of many things, their self-esteem, their self-worth, their ability to be productive members of society,” she said. “To destroy their chances as a youth to become whatever vision they have of themselves is child abuse and it needs to stop. Kids with disabilities, who by no fault of their own have unique needs, deserve support.”
Cooper said the Department of Education inquiry will provide parents with an additional layer of accountability.
“They’re (Department of Education) tracking where these parent complaints are coming from in Texas, what the topic is, and it really gives us another layer of oversight which I think our state needs in order to correct the course,” Cooper said.
Parents are encouraged to include the school district and specific school in their emails to the Department of Education, she said.
“Parents will hopefully feel like their voice makes a difference with this email opportunity — that they have a direct line to people overseeing a major issue in our state,” she said. “And hopefully school districts will see it’s not only the TEA watching, it’s the Department of Education. You can run, but you cannot hide. Eventually, you’re going to have to follow the law.”
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