CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) allegedly discriminated against students with disabilities by relying on truancy court recommendations to remove students from school, according to an investigative report released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
In addition to CCISD being included in the report, Bonham ISD was also accused of discriminatory practices. These complaints were not submitted to the TEA but were instead forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The TEA sent the following statement to the KRIS 6 newsroom:
“TEA has opened a special education complaint investigation into a child finding and Individualized Education Program (IEP) revision for a student eligible for special education services who was referred to Truancy Court by Corpus Christi ISD. Both allegations have been substantiated and the district is correcting the issues through a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). No special education investigation has been conducted regarding Bonham ISD.”
The investigation report released by the TEA on April 16, 2024, stated that CCISD did not initiate a child discovery process for students who were listed as out of school, even though it had reason to suspect the students may have disabilities and need special education services.
The district is also accused of relying on court referrals for truancy and recommending that students drop out and obtain their General Educational Development (GED).
“Absences have nothing to do with a child’s education,” said Marie Lopez, a mother whose son is a former CCISD student. “How would a child feel if they don’t have a disability and someone comes and says, ‘You need to get your GED. We can’t handle you here,'” she said.
Lopez’s son also has autism and cerebral palsy. Although he is no longer attending school, Lopez said he was surprised to hear about the TEA’s findings against CCISD.
“It’s a shame they’re kicking them out and not trying to educate them,” Lopez said. “I mean, they’re kicking them out because they don’t belong here. You shouldn’t do that to kids. Kids shouldn’t be punished for things that aren’t their fault.”
In addition to the report, several advocacy groups and law firms filed their own complaint with the TEA in February about CCISD’s allegations. The complaint, written in collaboration with the Texas Disability Rights Coalition, the National Youth Law Center, Texas Appleseed and the Texas Civil Rights Project, alleges that Corpus Christi has sent more students to truancy court than any other school district in Nueces County.
But that’s not all: The lawsuit also states that in 2022, Nueces County will make up 1% of the population of Texas. However, 11% of the state’s school truancy cases, a total of 1,008 cases, were filed in Nueces County, a trend that dates back to 2016.
“Both we and the TEA found that CCISD did not attempt to implement truancy prevention measures through these special education plans,” said Olivia Lee, an attorney with Disability Rights Texas.
The TEA investigation found that CCISD allegedly violated nearly four federal education laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Texas state law.
Lee also said he believes all school districts should be inclusive of students, especially those with learning disabilities.
“Texas and federal law require school districts to identify and evaluate students in their districts who have disabilities. This is called the child discovery process. This was one of the allegations that we received and the conclusion that the TEA did not do this,” Lee said.
The TEA lists several steps that school districts should take for all children, especially those individuals named in the report: Advocacy organizations and law firms have suggested the following solutions for school districts:
Ensure that students with disabilities suspected of needing special education services are evaluated and served promptly. Prevent students from being referred to the courts for disability-related absenteeism. Develop behavioral intervention plans to address absenteeism for students with disabilities before court referral. Implement other evidence-based interventions to help students with disabilities access special education programs. Prevent and intervene in school absenteeism before court referral.
“They are doing their best to survive in their own way and all they need is aid to help them, but this is not helping them at all,” Lopez added.
CCISD declined a request for an on-camera interview but provided the following prepared statement:
“Providing a quality education and care for all students is our district’s highest priority. CCISD is addressing administrative concerns through the TEA grievance process. While we cannot share any additional information at this time, we are fully cooperating with the process.”
According to the TEA’s investigation report, CCISD has until Aug. 30 to correct the district’s policies. It also has a Sept. 30 deadline to make decisions about existing plans and assessments for individual students listed in the report.
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