HISD’s proposed special education overhaul is drawing concern from families and federal scrutiny, as some parents say they are still waiting for clear answers about how the changes will affect their children.
‘I wasn’t part of the decision’: HISD parents react to proposed special education changesKaty mother charged in deaths of 2 toddlers found in pool with cocaine in systems– Dina Kushaliyeva says she spent weeks planning for her daughter’s next school year at Sinclair Elementary discussing goals, routines, and support services during a recent meeting with school leaders about her daughter’s Individualized Education Program.
“It’s a bit disturbing because some changes were made specific for my child and I wasn’t even involved in the conversation,” Kushaliyeva told KPRC 2 News. Kushaliyeva says she recently learned her daughter, who is on the autism spectrum, will have to relocate from Sinclair Elementary to Wainwright Elementary under Houston ISD’s proposed special education changes for the 2026-27 school year.
U.S. Department of Education opens disability discrimination investigation into HISD special education proposal “So my meeting literally just happened on April 1st or 2nd,” Kushaliyeva said.
“At that meeting we talked about what’s going to be expected for next year, where she is today when it comes to her objectives and goals, what the next year is going to look like… and then here comes this change. ”, it has opened an investigation into HISD to determine whether the district’s plans could violate federal disability laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the federal investigation, HISD is allegedly centralizing certain special education services and could separate some students with disabilities from their non-disabled peers beginning next school year. Federal officials say parents have raised concerns that some students could be moved into more restrictive learning environments and face longer transportation times to specialized campuses.
“Schools cannot exclude students with disabilities simply because of their disability status,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a statement. “Placement decisions must be made individually, based on each student’s needs, rather than by blanket policies that segregate students by disability category. ” Kushaliyeva says she still does not fully understand why her daughter’s campus assignment is changing.
“No reason,” Kushaliyeva responded. “In their official letter it says to better support the needs or something else, which I’m not sure if they know what the needs of my child are to begin with. ”KPRC 2 News reached out to HISD with several questions about the proposed changes, including how students are being selected for relocation, what services will change, and what support families can expect next school year.
“Historically in HISD, some students who are special education students were required to go to certain campuses to receive their services because their zoned campus or their home campus may not have offered that,” Hole said. “What we actually can do now is provide services to them at any campus at HISD,” Hole said. “So, we’re really increasing their choice and their access to services across the district.
” The district also says it plans to increase support in self-contained classrooms by reducing class sizes and adding more staff.
“We’re focused on increasing resources and supports,” Hole said. “That looks like smaller class sizes, a larger number of adults in the classroom so that there’s smaller groups of students who are learning together. ”“Some students though will be required to move campus locations so that they can access the services in the self-contained setting,” Hole said.
“A lot of these children are going to be under the scrutiny of these decisions,” she said, “But nobody’s thinking about what that would actually mean in real life for us, the parents, the caretakers and the children themselves. ” In a statement to KPRC 2 News regarding the federal investigation, HISD said any review of the district’s special education updates “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.
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