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Houston ISD eliminates Autism support team
FOX 26 Reporter Natalie Hee spoke with a special needs advocate about the decision by the district.
HOUSTON - More changes are coming to Houston ISD as students prepare to head back to school on Monday. The district has decided to eliminate an autism support team, as part of a larger restructuring plan for special education.
Louis Geigerman is the founder of National ARD/IEP. For nearly 30 years, Geigerman has been advocating for autistic children fighting for their needs in public schools in honor of his son, Ben.
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"I had a son who was on the spectrum and he had difficulties. And he died a few years ago tragically," Geigerman said.
"We’re taking about 10 steps back with the way HISD is handling this. Individuals on the spectrum have an 80% unemployment rate. These individuals are going to have difficult with independent living skills, they’re going to have difficulty getting employment. They’re basically going to be at home. And somebody is going to have to take care of many of these kids," Geigerman continued.
Houston ISD says special education needs will now be restructured to what’s called The Unit Support Model.
HISD says this model will move special education needs from the central office and place them within divisions to provide more focused support to a smaller number of schools.
A spokesperson added that there are still more than 1,800 employees catered to special education within the district.
Employees whose positions were dissolved remain on the district's payroll and can apply for other jobs, according to HISD.
Jackie Anderson is the President of the Houston Federation of Teachers and a former special needs educator of 33 years. She said she finds the changes problematic.
"The district has been targeted by the TEA for not delivering services correctly to our special education students," Anderson said, adding she worries it could lead to students and teachers walking out.
"I know that it takes some nuance training to work with students who have autism. You can deliver instruction to those students, but you have to have a way to understand what’s not being communicated by those students. I had to look at them and understand what’s going to trigger him, what’s going to set her off, how is she going to react to what he’s doing? If you have not experienced that and you haven’t had training in that, you don’t know how to handle that. You’re not going to be able to do it. I do foresee teachers who are in those classrooms who don’t have a deep understanding of that, walking out because they’re going to handle it. And when those students don’t get their needs met, they tend to get violent sometimes," Anderson said.
In a statement, HISD explained the changes:
"We will provide support for all students with special education needs, including students with autism as part of the Unit Support Model. This model moves supports for special education needs from the central office and puts them within the divisions. The Unit model provides a Director of Special Education, two coordinators, and a manager assigned to a specific feeder pattern of schools within each Division. This model allows support to be closer to the assigned campuses and enables staff to provide more focused supports to a smaller number of schools.
All of these staff members remain on the District payroll. Staff members who held the title of Itinerant Teacher now have an opportunity to interview for the positions within the new structure. If placed in the Unit Structure, these itinerant teachers - whose job was to coach and support SLC teachers district-wide - will still provide support and coaching but to a much more defined group of campuses. Those who don’t take a position in the Unit Structure will be offered a special education position at campuses with special education vacancies.
With more than 1,800 campus and central office employees dedicated to special education, support for students goes beyond this restructuring. Last week all SLC teachers were provided with opportunities to participate in SLC-specific professional development, and all teachers and support staff can continue to access additional coaching and professional development throughout the school year. In addition, the district is currently participating in the "Support for Students with Autism" grant, which provides SLC teachers with opportunities to visit model SLC classrooms throughout the district."
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Kelly Headrick, the Senior Director of State Government Affairs and Grassroots Advocacy at non-profit organization, Autism Speaks, reacted to the changes at HISD.
"Autism is a condition that poses very unique challenges for students and school personnel. There is a spectrum of needs, strengths and sensory/behavioral impacts, different from, and in some cases, more pronounced than many other developmental or intellectual disabilities. While focusing some support services closer to the classroom can have benefits, Autism Speaks believes that moving away from a specialized approach fails to take the many diverse needs of autistic students into consideration, hindering students from reaching their full potential in the classroom and teachers from supporting to the best of their abilities."