Corpus Christi ISD special education falls short in some areas; staff shortages continue
Corpus Christi ISD "needs assistance" in special education, according to the Texas Education Agency.
Corpus Christi Independent School District is falling short in a few areas, primarily related to how long it takes the district to assess students to determine whether they qualify for special education services, as well as student performance in science and social studies.
The Texas Education Agency assesses special education student outcomes and program compliance at public schools and assigns each school district a determination level. Corpus Christi ISD's "needs assistance" determination level is the second of four levels.
This means that the district is not meeting requirements, but the state doesn't believe it is in need of more robust intervention.
The Corpus Christi ISD board of trustees received a report on special education Monday evening. Jennifer Arismendi, CCISD chief officer for special education programs and services, outlined how the program works and how it needs to improve.
For the past several years, the number of CCISD students who qualify for special education services has been rising, making up a larger portion of total student enrollments each year.
As of March 17, close to 18% of CCISD students receive special education services. More are expected to be identified before school lets out for summer, but that's already more than last school year. Arismendi said the number of special education students in the district will likely exceed 6,000 by the end of the school year.
The downstream effects from how the state of Texas has handled dyslexia is one potential explanation for this growth. After a 2016 investigation from the Houston Chronicle found that the state was illegally capping the percentage of special education students per district, federal authorities directed the state to shift dyslexia services into the area of special education, offering dyslexic students more protections.
Currently, nearly 1,600 CCISD students with dyslexia are being served through special education, with most receiving pull-out services, though more than 280 receive instructional accommodations. Pull-out services involve students being temporarily removed from their general education classroom to receive specialized instruction or support in a separate setting.
According to the presentation, 545 students with dyslexia are being served through Section 504 — a federal law that protects students with disabilities — and haven't been shifted to special education, including 212 receiving pull-out services.
In CCISD, 36% of special education students' primary disability is a specific learning disability, a category that includes dyslexia.
The primary disability type for 15% of special education students is a speech impairment. However, many students who have a different "primary" disability also receive speech therapy services.
Autism represents another 15%. Autism has been a growing category in CCISD over the last five years, Arismendi said.
"Many believe this is due to increased awareness in our community and early intervention," Arismendi said.
About 14% of special education students are eligible due to another health impairment based on a physician's diagnosis. This broad category includes disabilities and conditions such as ADHD, epilepsy, heart conditions, leukemia and Tourette syndrome.
Only 11% of special education students are eligible due to an intellectual disability. Emotional disabilities represent 6%, which include acting-out or withdrawn behaviors.
The district also serves students who are deaf and hard of hearing, vision impaired, orthopedic impaired or deaf-blind or who have traumatic brain injuries.
Arismendi said that 77% of special education students are served in general education settings.
One area where Corpus Christi ISD can improve are special education student outcomes on state assessments.
In particular, special education performance on the science and social studies State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness assessments dropped between 2023 and 2024.
Science is tested in fifth and eighth grades, and social studies is tested in eighth grade.
There were also drops in eighth grade reading, Arismendi said.
Arismendi said that the district has reviewed instructional guides for science and reading and is providing training to educators on how to use student accommodations, especially in science and social studies.
The district is not fully compliant at meeting state deadlines for how long it takes to test a student for special education eligibility once a parent has given consent and for how long it takes to complete special education reports. This impacts how long it ultimately takes for students to start receiving the special education services that will help them succeed.
Part of the reason the district is having difficulty meeting deadlines is that it doesn't have enough special education staff.
It currently has seven educational diagnostician, 12 speech language pathologist and nine school psychologist vacancies.
Additionally, it has 42 special education teacher and 58 special education paraprofessional vacancies.
The district is contracting with an outside company to score special education evaluation testing and turning to retired CCISD administrators and former special education department chairs to facilitate annual and review meetings so the district's team can focus on initial assessments.
"We are trying to think outside the box," Arismendi said.
Though the district is fully compliant on providing transition planning for special education students, Arismendi said this is an area the district can strengthen, particularly when students move campuses.
The district would also like to increase post-secondary involvement in skilled jobs, vocational training and college, Arismendi said.
An electrical workers union sued Corpus Christi ISD. Here's where the lawsuit stands.
Grand slam record still sinking in for Veterans Memorial softball player Isabella Chapa
Youth mental health: Corpus Christi ISD seeks to join lawsuit against social media companies
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi ISD special education programs in need of improvement
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Texas Education Agency extends Houston school district takeover through 2027
The state takeover of the Houston Independent School District will continue for two more years, the Texas Education Agency announced Monday. Education Commissioner Mike Morath had until June 1 to decide next steps for the state's largest school district, whose former superintendent and elected school board members were ousted and replaced in 2023 due to years of poor academic outcomes at a single campus and allegations of leadership misconduct. Since then, state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles has led the district, a controversial figure in Houston who has ushered improvements on state exams while struggling to win over community support. Still, Morath decided to extend the intervention until June 1, 2027, applauding the district for its improvements but citing the need for more progress. That progress, he said, will have to include no school campuses with failing accountability scores across multiple years, compliance with special education requirements and improved school board governance. Morath on Monday also announced the appointment of four new school board members, replacing four he selected in 2023. 'With the changes made in the last two years, Houston ISD is well on its way to being a district where all of its schools provide students with the educational opportunities that will allow them to access the American Dream,' the commissioner said in a statement. 'Ultimately, two years has not been enough time to fix district systems that were broken for decades. The extension of this intervention will allow the district to build on its progress and achieve lasting success for students once the board transitions back to elected leadership.' The Houston Chronicle first reported the extension of the takeover. Under Miles' leadership, the district has experienced extraordinary staff turnover and plummeting student enrollment. Miles, who inherited a district that for years ran an overall well-performing school system, has faced accusations of shepherding a militaristic educational environment where teachers have limited freedom to teach in ways they see fit and children are exhausted and disengaged from learning. Miles, on the other hand, has touted student improvement on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR test, and progress in the district's A-F accountability ratings as proof that his model is effective, an achievement that Morath and state lawmakers have publicly commended. During the November election, Houston voters shot down a plan to approve $4.4 billion in academic and infrastructure improvements for the school district — the largest proposal of its kind in state history — which many saw as a litmus test for Miles' support. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
CBS News
29-05-2025
- CBS News
More North Texas school districts are switching to 4-day weeks. Here's why.
More public school districts in Texas are turning to shorter school weeks, including several in North Texas. For the 2025-2026 school year, Kennedale ISD in Tarrant County and Ponder ISD in Denton County will transition to a four-day school week. At least 18 public school districts in the North Texas area have already made the change. Districts have said that moving to a four-day school week will help them recruit and retain quality teachers. According to the Texas Education Agency, for the 2024-2025 school year, the total number of employed teachers fell for the first time since 2011, and the number of teachers leaving rose. Other reasons include saving money and student attendance. While the TEA does not have a complete list of districts implementing four-day school weeks, the Texas Classroom Teachers Association said that Olfen ISD, east of San Angelo, was the first to implement a four-day week in the 2016-2017 school year. As a rule, districts will designate a day off. Usually, that's on a Monday or a Friday. By law, Texas requires public schools to provide a minimum of 75,600 minutes of instruction per school year. Instead of making the school year longer, many districts opt to make the school day longer. Kennedale ISD, for example, plans to increase its school day by 15 minutes. Ponder ISD says it will increase its school day by 30 minutes. But missing that fifth day may impact students when it comes to learning retention. The TEA released a report in February 2025 comparing the academic impact of a four-day school week to a five-day school week. Results are based on the 2022-2023 school year STAAR test scores. In reading/language arts, students in grades 6-8 who attended a four-day school week scored an average of 6 to 8 percentage points lower than students who attended a five-day school week. In math, students in grades 4-6 had an average of 5-8 percentage points lower. The TEA also cited national research that shows evidence of academic growth from districts that adopted a four-day school week as long as they made the school day or the school year longer. However, that growth didn't happen as fast as in five-day school week districts. On average, students in a four-day school week attend 148 school days per year, compared to the national average for five-day schools at 180 days per year. North Texas school districts operating in a four-day school week: Chico ISD Gordon ISD Graford ISD Mineral Wells ISD Palo Pinto ISD Tioga ISD Farmersville ISD Terrell ISD Anna ISD Community ISD Decatur ISD Sanger ISD Athens ISD Gainesville ISD Quinlan ISD Joshua ISD Gunter ISD Collinsville ISD
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Yahoo
Texas Senate approves ending STAAR test, sends bill back to House for approval
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Senate approved legislation Tuesday night aimed at revising the state's school accountability system and replacing the standardized test with a version meant to reduce anxiety for students. House Bill 4 will now head back to its originating chamber for final approval before going to the Governor's desk. The Senate's version of the bill, authored by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R – Houston, would prohibit school districts from suing the state to block the A-F accountability ratings in which schools are evaluated. In 2023, more than 100 school districts sued the Texas Education Agency to stop the release of the ratings over anticipated changes in how the scores would be calculated. The bill would also authorize state interventions in school districts that do not comply with the accountability statutes. 'What gets measured gets fixed, but you can't fix what you can't measure,' Bettencourt said in a news release. 'HB 4 ensures accountability ratings are released clearly, fairly, and with purpose to measure performance, report results and help schools improve.' One of the biggest elements of the bill is ending the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR test. There have been complaints on both sides of the aisle that the STAAR test is forcing schools to teach kids for the test and not teaching them the curriculum, on top of creating high anxiety on students taking the exam. Instead, schools would switch to a three-test model that is spaced throughout the year. Students would take a national norm-referenced assessment at the beginning of the year, middle of the year, and the end of the year. It will give teachers immediate results on testing to see how students are progressing throughout the year. The current STAAR testing model does not provide testing results until the summer when students are out of school away from their teachers. Educators have complained the results come too late to help a student improve while they are in the classroom. Unlike the version the House passed earlier this month, the Senate's version would eliminate the STAAR test in the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. The STAAR elimination and replacement would be phased-in over the next three years, giving time to run pilot programs and train teachers. The House will have to approve the changes before it can go to the Governor's desk for signature. Sen. Bettencourt was asked if the House members who worked on the original bill were happy with the changes. Bettencourt said they like the new version. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
