04-04-2025
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.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Corpus Christi ISD special education programs in need of improvement
