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Texas Continuous Improvement Process
Public Input and Information Meetings

During the 2007-2008 school year, the Texas Education Agency and Education Service Centers will host 20 public input and information meetings to gather input on special education services for students with disabilities. The input from this and other public meetings will help the State identify and address areas for improvement and also build on current strengths related to the provision of special education. These public input meetings are a part of the Texas Special Education Continuous Improvement Process (TCIP) and will be held on an annual basis. Stakeholder input is vital to the State’s efforts to improve results for students with disabilities and meet new challenges as a result of the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004).

Public Meeting Topics
Topics for these public meetings are aligned to the following indicators in the
 State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report:

Indicator 2: Dropout Rate of Students with Disabilities
Indicator 4: Discipline of Students with Disabilities
Indicators 9/10: Disproportionate Representation of Students with Disabilities
Indicators 5: Educational Environments (Least Restrictive Environment) for students with disabilities, ages 6-21

Note: The topics discussed will vary by each regional meeting. Topics are selected by each education service center based on the ESC's need to gather information for continuous improvement at the regional level.

2007-08 Public Meeting Schedule:
Contact your regional education service center for specifc information about the location, time, RSVP requirements, etc.

ESC Website	ESC Location	ESC Contact	Meeting Date
02	Corpus Christi	Nori Mora	December 6, 2007
08	Mt. Pleasant	Marth Vincent	January 16, 2008 February 4, 2008
04	Houston	Rebecca Martinez	February 18, 2008
13	Austin	Linda McDaniel	February 18, 2008
15	San Angelo	Debbie Louder	February 18, 2008
01	Edinburg	Dalila Ruiz	February 19, 2008
10	Richardson	Rosemary Manges	February 21, 2008
20	San Antonio	Ken Book	February 23, 2008
06	Huntsville	Deanna Wickes	March 7, 2008
18	Midland	Sue Watkins	March 11, 2008 March 13, 2008
07	Kilgore	Liz Adams	March 31, 2008
14	Abilene	Kay Staton/ Norma Whitis	March 27, 2008 April 1, 2008 April 3, 2008
05	Beaumont	Jeanie Bell	April 1, 2008
11	Ft. Worth	Debbie Roybal	April 1, 2008
16	Amarillo	Kelly Burton	April 2, 2008
19	El Paso	Rick Razo	April 2, 2008
09	Wichita Falls	Pam Humphrey/ Anjela Schlegel	April 8, 2008
12	Waco	Patti Voges	April 15, 2008
03	Victoria	Brenda O’Bannion	April 17, 2008
17	Lubbock	Sharon Bradley	April 17, 2008

Please Note
The meetings are intended to gather broad input regarding services across the State for students with disabilities so that the State may continuously improve those services over time.  If you have individual, specific concerns, comments, or complaints regarding services you have received, please contact your local school district Director of Special Education.  Neither the TEA nor the ESCs will be responding to individual comments provided at the meetings, but rather using the aggregate of public input from the meetings to identify overall, statewide areas for improvement and strengths.

 

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PUBLIC HEARINGS HELD MAY 18, 23, & 24
PUBLIC COMMENT REQUESTED Through JUNE 19
COMMISSIONERS RULES CONCERNING SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES

 

TO THE STAKEHOLDER ADDRESSED:
April 20, 2007
Subject:    Proposed amendments to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 89

As a result of the changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004) Amendments of 2004 and federal regulations (effective October 13, 2006), the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has proposed amendments to 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 89, Adaptations for Special Populations, Subchapter AA, Commissioner's Rules Concerning Special Education Services, to reflect these changes in order to ensure school district compliance with new procedural and reporting requirements.

The proposed Commissioner‚s rules, list of amendments to the Commissioner‚s rules, schedule of public hearings, and instructions for providing public comment can be found on the TEA website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/rules/proprule.html.

The TEA encourages your participation in the Commissioner‚s Rule amendment process by providing your comments in writing or at a public hearing before the close of the public comment period on June 19, 2007.

The Commissioner‚s rule amendment process works best when all stakeholders participate.
If you have questions concerning the Commissioner‚s Rule amendment process, please contact the Division of IDEA Coordination at (512) 463-9414.

Sincerely,
Gene Lenz
Deputy Associate Commissioner
Special Programs, Monitoring, and Interventions

GL:MR

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The TEA Division of IDEA Coordination has posted the following information at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/special.ed/hearings/....

§         Winkelman Decision Synopsis

As a result of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Winkelman v. Parma City School District, decided May 21, 2007, parents of children with disabilities can now litigate their right to a free appropriate public education for their children without hiring a lawyer.

The key to this decision is the Court's finding that it is not only the child that has entitlement to a free appropriate public education. Parents also have this entitlement for their children. Therefore, parents are litigating their own rights, and can do that without hiring a lawyer to appear in court. As a result, parents are not representing their children pro se, but are representing their own rights in court.

This decision changes nothing in the way TEA manages due process hearings as parents have always been allowed to represent their children at the due process hearing level.

TEA | Division of IDEA Coordination