Okay, this is my first diary so be kind, and please give me hints in the comments or by sending me a message. I have searched to see if anyone has run a diary on this, so it I missed it, I am sorry.
It is so typical of Republican governance, and now that Rick Perry is up for the Dept. of Energy cabinet position, everyone should know about this. The Houston Chronicle has been running a multipart series on the problem, and just published the 6th part in the series.
Way back in 2003, Texas went on huge budget cutting spree to address a budget shortfall. The Republican led legislature, under the direction of Rick Perry’s budget “suggestions” cut the Texas Education Agency budget by 1.1 billion, cutting all sorts of programs from public schools, and laying off 15 percent of the agencies employees. Teachers were laid off thru an attrition plan. It was a big deal at the time, and there were protests at the state capitol in Austin against the cuts.
There was another cut, albeit a secret one. It had to do with saving money, but they couldn’t cut it directly. They had to do it secretly. The state wanted to cut the number of kids receiving special education from 12% to no more than 8.5%. No matter the kids who actually needed the service, that by federal law public schools are required to provide, no matter the families hurt, the children left behind. Rick Perry’s appointee, Commissioner Shirley Neeley Richardson, developed the system. It was called the “Performance Based Monitoring Analysis System, or PBMAS.
In order to achieve this 8.5 percent goal, the state required teachers to systematically deny care to children. This is illegal under federal law. Some of the services denied included access to special tools needed by physically handicapped children, psychological counseling, speech therapy, and physical therapy, and learning programs for kids with learning disabilities. According to the Houston Chronicle
Their efforts, which started in 2004 but have never been publicly announced or explained, have saved the Texas Education Agency billions of dollars but denied vital supports to children with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, epilepsy, mental illnesses, speech impediments, traumatic brain injuries, even blindness and deafness, a Houston Chronicle investigation has found.
More than a dozen teachers and administrators from across the state told the Chronicle they have delayed or denied special education to disabled students in order to stay below the 8.5% benchmark. They revealed a variety of methods, from putting kids into a cheaper alternative program known as “Section 504” to persuading parents to pull their children out of public school altogether.
Yes you read that right. Texas secretly implemented a plan to keep services needed by all sorts of disabled children in public schools from them. Even though these services are required to be made available by federal law.
The Chronicle goes on to say
Texas is the only state that has ever set a target for special education enrollment, records show.
It has been remarkably effective.
In the years since its implementation, the rate of Texas kids receiving special education has plummeted from near the national average of 13 percent to the lowest in the country — by far.
In 2015, for the first time, it fell to exactly 8.5 percent.
If Texas provided services at the same rate as the rest of the U.S., 250,000 more kids would be getting critical services such as therapy, counseling and one-on-one tutoring.
Jonathan Kozol, an education advocate interviewed for the story said
“It’s completely incompatible with federal law,” Kozol said. “It looks as if they’re actually punishing districts that meet the needs of the kids.”
The Texas Education Agency put out a statement addressing the issue. They deny that they have kept kids out of special education and have tried to say that the 8.5 percent was not a cap or a target, but would indicate to them how well the school district was performing. Yes, how well they were performing not giving these kids the education and tools and help they needed.
This story is disturbing on so many levels. The Houston Chronicle’s investigation into this has exposed that under this policy enacted by an unelected appointee of Rick Perry has led to a whopping 32 percent drop in special education enrollment.
That’s it Republicans, good work! Save money on the backs of some of the neediest people in the state of Texas...disabled children. That’s some nice set of values you have there, jerks!
Back to the Chronicle article
The investigation found that the Texas Education Agency’s 8.5 percent enrollment target has led to the systematic denial of services by school districts to thousands of families of every race and class across the state.
And
Special education rates have fallen to the lowest levels in big cities, where the needs are greatest. Houston ISD and Dallas ISD provide special ed services to just 7.4 percent and 6.9 percent of students respectively. By comparison, 19 percent of kids in New York City get services. In all, among the 100 largest school districts in the U.S., only 10 serve fewer than 8.5 percent of their students. All 10 are in Texas.
The commissioner appointed by Perry, Ms. Richardson, who came up with the PBMAS plan gave clear instructions...districts that scored poorly on this plan could be visited by regulators, be required to make “corrective action plans”, be fined or even taken over. Shirley Neeley Richardson thought that Texas, with 12.1 percent of kids in special education in 2004, was “over identifying” these kids as special needs. In other words, she thought too many kids were being identified as special needs that were not. She said her whole process was “data based and the product of a collaborative process”.
Collaborative? Collaborative with who?
The TEA did not consult with the federal government, Texas Legislature or State Board of Education before implementing the policy, records show.
The Texas Education Agency has been unable to produce any records on how they came up with the plan, or how they came to the 8.5% benchmark.
How the individual school districts implemented the changes needed to reach the 8.5 percent benchmark is just awful. Some discouraged parents from formally requesting eligibility evaluations, because Federal law requires that all schools must respond to formal written requests. Some schools had brochures made that directed parents of special needs kids to outside services, private usually, outside of the special ed the school could offer. Some districts told parents the flat out lie that they had to pay for evaluations. Or that there was a huge waiting list for services. Or that kids could only be tested once every two years. All flat out lies. And most probably illegal. In some of the districts they ignored the parents altogether, never responding to written requests for evaluations.
Further —
One method that Texas has used to curtail special education has been specifically prohibited by the federal government. It involves “Response to Intervention,” a new approach to teaching low performing students. The U.S. Dept. of Education has approved RTI, but said schools cannot require teachers to try it before referring a student to be evaluated for special ed.
Many Texas schools have done just that.
Just this one tactic was illegal. How many of the others are? I am sure several.
Please go read the whole series. It started in September, and they just posted part 6 over the Christmas holidays. It will infuriate you and hopefully it will goad our Democratic Senators into questioning Rick Perry about this before they vote on his cabinet position. Rick Perry had to know, but I am sure he has plausible deniability to cover his sorry ass. However, we don’t know yet because the state agency is refusing to turn over any records on this...which in itself is a violation of state law.
The series uses individual cases to point out just how badly the state failed them and they are heartbreaking. Kids that are now years behind. Some that have died. It is truly horrific what the state of Texas, under Republican rule, specifically the Republican Rick Perry and his toady, Shirley Neeley Richardson has done.
I think the Houston Chronicle deserves a Pulitzer for this series. Please just set aside an hour and read it. Let it make you angry enough to fuel your fight for the next four years. We need to get rid of these people with their ideology of helping the rich on the backs of the poor. Evil, your name is Republican.
Thanks for reading guys. Please be kind, but give me some real pointers. I have been a reader for years (since 2009!) and I comment often, but never had the cajones to put up a diary with all the great writers here. And again, if someone has written a diary on this already, please disregard. I just read the whole series today, so was not aware of it before.
Friday, Dec 30, 2016 · 7:44:54 PM +00:00 · bassinduo
It looks as if the Federal government has already responded to what Texas has been doing. I came to this story late after reading a series that the Houston Chronicle started back in September. Part 6 came out over the Christmas Holidays, when I first read it. But back in October The Dept Of Education ordered the state of Texas to eliminate the 8.5% benchmark. And they gave the state 30 days to report back on the effect the benchmark has had. From the Chronicle —
The U.S. Department of Education directed the state to report back in 30 days on the benchmark's impact and on which school districts across the state may have relied on it to deny special education services to children. Its findings on those districts should include "the specific steps the State will take to remedy the effect of such past practices," the department said.
"It appears that the State's approach to monitoring local educational agency compliance … may be resulting in districts' failure to identify and evaluate all students suspected of having a disability and who need special education," Sue Swenson, the department's acting assistant secretary for special education, wrote in a three page letter to Mike Morath, head of the Texas Education Agency.
"Depending on TEA's response," Swenson wrote, the federal government "will determine whether additional monitoring activities or other administrative enforcement or corrective actions are necessary."
The TEA, which has denied that children with disabilities have been kept out of special education but has promised to review the issue, said in a statement that it "welcomes the opportunity" to discuss its policies.
Oh, yes, I am sure that the TEA “welcomes the opportunity” to discuss its policies. Why now? They didn’t discuss it with anyone for years, not the Texas legislature, not the Board of Education, not parents, not special ed teachers and counselors, not anyone. They just came up with this plan and implemented it and tried to punish schools who didn’t get their numbers low enough.
I will update further when and if I find out what the state has responded with.
Saturday, Dec 31, 2016 · 5:44:15 AM +00:00 · bassinduo
Update number two: Shout out to Catte Nappe to finding this which is important for anyone in Texas who thinks they may have been affected by what Texas has done. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative services (osers) which is a department of the U.S Department of Education is holding a public comment period for teachers, counselors, parents, ANYONE who may have been affected by Texas’ withholding of any of the services of special education. The comment period is still open until January 6th and comments can be made here. The comments are public and you can read what others have posted. Please, please, if your children have been affected by Texas’ action make comment! If you know anyone whose children may have been affected, or perhaps a now grown child who has gone thru the Texas system, please let them know about this and where to make public comment.
Again, thanks for reading!