HOUSTON — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation into Houston ISD after the state’s largest district began to centralize its special education department.
HISD announced last week that students in some special education programs would move to 150 designated campuses next school year as the district relocates and consolidates classes, leaving parents scrambling and advocates concerned about the changes.
On Friday, the civil rights office said it would investigate whether HISD’s move violates federal laws barring discrimination against students with disabilities.
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“Schools cannot exclude students with disabilities simply because of their disability status. Placement decisions must be made individually, based on each student’s needs, rather than by blanket policies that segregate students by disability category,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. “The allegations described here are alarming. The Trump administration will fully investigate this situation and fight to ensure every child with a disability receives the education and support guaranteed under the law.”
Despite the federal investigation, HISD appears to be continuing its plan to move some students with disabilities to new campuses. The district said in a statement that any review of the special education updates will show the district is increasing access and improving student outcomes.
Federal requirements
More than 20,000 students in HISD receive special education services, which are federally guaranteed for children with disabilities, including autism, dyslexia and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The Texas Education Agency has overseen the district’s special education department since December 2020 after years of disorder. HISD must improve its special education compliance to exit the current state takeover.
Under federal law, districts are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act also requires students to be taught in the least restrictive classroom conducive to their disability, which Houston-area parents and advocates warned would be jeopardized under the new plan.
In a statement, the federal office said families were concerned that under HISD’s new plan, their students would spend less time in general education classrooms and more time in self-contained rooms than their peers. Parents also worried longer commutes to the proposed specialty schools could be difficult for children with certain medical and behavioral needs.
HISD’s response to the investigation
In a statement, HISD said that any review will show that all special education updates for the 2026–27 school year “focus on increasing access to services in the least restrictive environment, strengthening systems to improve the quality of instruction, and improving student outcomes.”
“As always, the district remains committed to ensuring students with disabilities receive the services and supports outlined in their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and that placement decisions are made individually through the (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) process in accordance with applicable law,” HISD wrote.
HISD wrote that for about 5,000 students primarily served in self-contained settings, families can expect small class sizes, low adult-to-student ratios and placement with similar-age peers. Those programs will be available on more than half of the district’s campuses, and transportation will continue to be provided for any student whose IEP requires it, they said.
HISD said there would be no changes to campuses or services for more than 15,000 students who are currently served in inclusive settings. The district said it could not comment further on specific allegations or matters under review due to the active investigation.
‘Doesn’t surprise me’
The announcement of the federal investigation did not surprise Colleen Potts, supervising attorney for the education team at Disability Rights Texas.
“I’m sure that parents are very stressed and worried about special education services continuing or changing, and any kind of discrimination on the part of HISD,” Potts said. “Reporting that to the Office for Civil Rights is the correct way to go about making a discrimination complaint. And with a district as large as HISD, it doesn’t surprise me that they decided to investigate that.”
Potts said that centralizing services should not change the actual special education services for students, meaning students with individualized education programs should receive the same services in the same time frames from the same credentialed providers.
The federal office would examine if the burden on a family moving to a different campus — even while receiving the same services — is discriminatory based on that child’s disability.
“What the Office for Civil Rights is going to be investigating is not the provision of special education services, but rather any allegations of discrimination due to the students’ disability,” Potts said. “So that would look like an exorbitant amount of time on a bus completely across town … Is that enough of a burden on that student to be discriminatory based on their disability?”
What it means for families
The same day the federal investigation was announced, HISD sent letters to some special education families informing them that their child would move schools. Letters said the special education department would coordinate students’ transfer process and that families would receive a personalized call about the new plan.
“All day long, my phone has been called, emailed, texted by parents getting the letters and saying, ‘What are we going to do? My child’s program is closing. What are our options?’” special education advocate Angelica Medrano said. “I’m hoping that all of this is going to make HISD pause and say, ‘OK, maybe we need to revisit this.’”
Meredith Yaker was one of the parents who received a letter. She had been preparing her daughter to join her twin brother at his middle school next year. But now she is assigned to a new campus farther away, which has Yaker concerned about her daughter’s education and her entire family’s situation.
“She is not going to be able to go to the same school as her siblings. She’s not going to have access to that very top quality fine arts education, and she’s not going to have access to all the good things that (her brother’s school) offers,” Yaker said. “There is no doubt that I’m going to have to enroll the boys in aftercare so that I can pick her up from wherever she winds up going.”
Parent Naxhiely Ramon was not optimistic the federal probe would lead to positive change for her two children in HISD’s special education. She said the district did not involve her or other parents when drafting the changes, which were first leaked on social media.
“It just feels like it’s insulting. It’s a slap in the face. They say in special education, we have to be so involved. We’re always told we’re part of the planning process. You know, our decisions matter, our opinions matter,” Ramon said. “And then they do something like this with no time to even seek out other options.”
Potts, with Disability Rights Texas, offered some advice for concerned parents. She said parents could first check that their child’s IEP and services will remain the same at their new campus next year. Parents could also speak to administrators and educators to assist students in transferring to a new campus.
“I think parents should be encouraged to have those conversations about how to help their student, especially if it’s a student with a disability that doesn’t do well in change or unpredictable transitions, like moving to a whole new campus,” Potts said. “Have those conversations and ask for some services to help transition that child into the new environment and into the new campus prior to the start of school.”
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