TEA report confirms CCISD discriminated against students with disabilities

According to an investigative report released by the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) allegedly discriminated against students with disabilities by relying on truancy court referrals that push students out of school.

In addition to CCISD being included in the report, Bonham ISD was also accused of discriminatory conduct. Rather than those complaints being filed with the TEA, they were brought to the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice .

TEA sent a statement to our KRIS 6 newsroom that stated:

"TEA initiated a special education complaint investigation regarding child find and the revision of individualized education programs (IEPs) for students eligible for special education services who had been referred to truancy court by Corpus Christi ISD. Both allegations were substantiated, and the district is rectifying the issues through a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). There has been no special education investigation conducted concerning Bonham ISD."

The investigative report, released on April 16, 2024 by the TEA, stated CCISD did not initiate child find processes for students who were referred to truancy, even though there were reasons to suspect that a student may have a disability and were required special education services.

The district is also accused of relying on truancy court referrals and recommended that students dis-enroll from school and obtain a General Educational Development (GED).

"Absences have nothing to do with that child's education," Marie Lopez, a mother whose son is a former CCISD student said. "How would they like it, not being disabled, have somebody come in and say 'You have to get a GED, we can't handle you here.' '"

Lopez's son is also living with autism and cerebral palsy. Although her son no longer attends school, Lopez said she was surprised to hear about the TEA's findings against CCISD.

"It's sad that they're putting these kids out and not trying to educate them," Lopez said. "I mean, they're putting them out by saying you don't belong here. You can't do that with these kids. These children should not be punished for something that is not their fault."

In addition to the report, several advocacy organizations and law firms issued their own complaint to the TEA about CCISD's allegations in February. According to the complaint written in collaboration with Disability Rights Texas, National Center for Youth Law, Texas Appleseed, and Texas Civil Rights Project, Corpus Christi allegedly referred more students to truancy court than any other district in Nueces County.

But that's not all. The complaint also stated that Nueces County made up 1% of the Texas population in 2022. However, 11% of all truant conduct cases in the state, which totals 1,008 cases, were filed in Nueces County. That same trend dates back to 2016.

"We found and TEA also found that CCISD were not trying to implement any truancy prevention that they could through these special education plans," Olivia Lee, an attorney with Disability Rights Texas said.

Through TEA's investigation, 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 American with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Texas law.

Lee also mentioned that she believes all school districts should accommodate their students, especially those with learning disabilities.

"Under Texas law and federal law, school districts are required to locate and evaluate students with disabilities of students within their district. It's called child find processes. So that is one accusation we had and one finding of TEA, is that they weren't doing this," Lee said.

The TEA listed several actions that the district must take in response to all children, specifically towards individuals listed in the report. The advocacy agencies and law firms suggest these solutions for the district:

• Ensure that students with disabilities who are suspected of needing special education services are promptly evaluated and served.
• Ensure students are not referred to court for absences related to their disabilities.
• Create behavior intervention plans to address students with disabilities absences before referral to court.
• Implement other evidence-based interventions to ensure students with disabilities can access their special education programming.
• Prevent and intervene in truancy before a court referral is made.

"They're doing their best to survive their way and all they need is the assistance to help them and this is no help to them at all," Lopez added.

While CCISD declined our request for an on camera interview, the district provided a prepared statement that read:

"Providing high quality education and care for all students is a top priority in our district. CCISD is addressing the administrative concerns through the TEA complaint process. While we are unable to share additional information at this time, we are fully cooperating with the process."

According to the TEA's investigative report, CCISD has until Aug. 30, to take corrective measures in their district policies. They also have until Sept. 30 to decide on the existing plans and evaluations for the individual student listed in the report.

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