By Nina Martinez, Morrigan Lucas, Belen Sanchez
In 2016, the Houston Chronicle conducted an investigation into the Texas Education Agency’s decision that only 8.5% of students should receive special education services. Roughly 5%, or 250,000 more students could receive services if the state provided the same rate as others. This 8.5% benchmark affected Texas families, leaving students without the special education services they were entitled to receive.
The TEA indirectly guided disabled students into the School to Prison Pipeline by denying students special education services. Many of these students are going throughout school with undiagnosed disorders like dyslexia. According to the International Dyslexia Association, an estimated 30% of those with dyslexia also have Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Students may show frustration living with an undiagnosed disorder. Students are then disciplined the way the school finds best. Unfortunately, this discipline can increase the student’s likelihood of expulsion, suspension or even juvenile detention.
(Map) For the 2020-21 school year, 5,001,165 students were enrolled in a Texas independent school district and 570503 students, or 11.4%, were accounted for receiving special education services. This, however, doesn’t mean that only 11% of Texas public school students need services.
Daphne Corder works with families whose children have been diagnosed with AD/HD but has never been tested for dyslexia. Corder, a special education advocate and dyslexia specialist, is helping those families navigate the road. Many students are treated for the wrong disability, therefore don’t receive the appropriate services. Children will naturally become frustrated if they’re being disciplined for something they feel they have no control over or don’t even understand, says Corder.
“Every parent who says they (their child) have behavior issues/AD/HD, I ask how their reading is. They end up being dyslexic, but it’s blamed on AD/HD,” Corder said. When they are taught as if they learn the same as their peers, the child is blamed for failure to comprehend.
There is no formal state certification for advocates, but there are organizations that give certifications.Advocates like Corder receive special training to understand the ins and outs of special education law, covering key areas like Section 504 and the Individuals with Disabilities Act.
“We help parents by helping them understand the system, what might be going on in the school and how they can advocate and get better service,” Corder said. “Most of the reasons parents need an advocate is because of the lack of education in the huge system.”
These services tend to be expensive, but Corder has both paying clients and clients who receive her aid free of charge. Students she helps may attend schools that lack services. Special education services are not equally available and due to the complexity of Texas’s education system as a whole, many families are unaware of or daunted by the process.
For every child that has a disability, TEA must find these students. This is known as the Child Find (34 CFR §300.111) in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In 2016, Penny Schwinn, TEA’s deputy commissioner of academics, wrote a letter to Texas schools that read: “A school district’s failure to meet the child requirements is a serious matter.”
Along with advocacy from people like Corder, policies for special education classrooms are in the works. Texas Education Code section 29.022 will require Texas school districts to conduct video and audio surveillance in special education classrooms or settings upon request.
According to the policy, “The statute is intended to protect students who, because of a disability, may not be able to report mistreatment by district employees or other students.”
Families in Texas have been negatively impacted by the district’s failure to support and provide services to students attempting to receive an equal education. Advocates like Corder and policymakers in support of these families are leading Texas one step closer to equal access to education for all kids.