HISD confirms some special education students will move campuses for the 2026-27 school year
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- HISD has confirmed that changes are coming to special education after ABC13 first reported that some students might have to switch campuses next school year.
The district released a video confirming the changes on Wednesday.
Parents of special education students said they had not heard about the new plan until Eyewitness News reported on documents from a source inside the district, even though the new school year is only a few months away.
Dina Kushaliyeva, a parent of a special education student, said the news was completely unexpected.
"Disappointment, disappointment in the district. These children, just like any other child, are entitled to education," Kushaliyeva said.
At a meeting in early April, Kushaliyeva said the school told her that her child, who has autism, would stay at the same school with the same teacher and continue working on specific goals next year. Less than a month later, she is now waiting to hear from the district if that plan will change.
"Why is it that we have a district that is totally, totally disregarding and dismissing any of that and making plans without talking to the principal, talking to the teachers, or talking to the parents," Kushaliyeva said.
ABC13 first reported that HISD planned changes to its special education program after receiving documents from a source close to the district.
The district did not respond to requests for comment at first. More than a week later, HISD sent an email and posted a video confirming our report.
In the video, the district said special education students in self-contained programs could be moved to one of 150 campuses as part of an effort to combine classes and expand resources.
However, Kushaliyeva said students with individual learning plans, known as IEPs, cannot be moved to a new campus without going through a more involved process.
"If you already have plans to move the kids, and you have this concept of working through the process of transitioning special needs children, again, according to the law, and just in general, it should be done in collaboration with the current teacher, the school, the child, and the child's parent," Kushaliyeva said.
On Wednesday, the district said parents should find out by the end of the week if their child will be moved.
"There is not enough time to get all of this figured out, and the worst part about it is we are not told anything," Kushaliyeva said.
On Thursday, the district told ABC13 they would respond by email, but stopped replying when we asked to speak with someone in person.
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