Houston - Several parents of TH Rogers students, the school for the gifted and profoundly disabled, have filed another grievance with the Houston Independent School District.
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TH Rogers parents worry about potential TEA takeover
Several parents of TH Rogers students, the school for the gifted and profoundly disabled, have filed another grievance with the Houston Independent School District.
After their Level II grievance was filed in December asking for more transparency with plans made for their children's education, HISD decided not to proceed with the transition planning process of the school's Preparing Students for Independence Program. The proposed PSI plan would have relocated dozens of profoundly disabled children to their neighborhood schools - which have far fewer resources and nursing staff than Rogers.
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Ruthie Green's special needs son Joshua is a student at TH Rogers. He will soon age out of the school, but she's worried about other students like him who will need extra, compassionate care in a school setting in the future.
Superintendent Millard House, II has stated the district will not be moving forward with the relocating plans, but Green says the parents need something more concrete - especially with the rumors of a TEA takeover.
"The superintendent wrote the letter," said Green. "What happens if he's no longer with us and the TEA decides they want to bring in their own management team? Where does that letter stand? Does it have any merit? Will they want to bring in their own board? Will this board see something different? It's just a lot of questions we're unsure of, then we're unclear how this ever came about in the beginning."
MORE: Special needs program to remain at T.H. Rogers School in Houston
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In response to the Level II Grievance filed by parents in December, HISD put the PSI plans for Rogers on hold while they "actively solicited critical parent feedback while exploring all possible options in collaboration with the Texas Education Agency."
However, collaborations with HISD and TEA don't appear to be as strong in the potential state takeover.
"We also know that uncertainty looms as it relates to a potential intervention from the TEA. I’ll be honest with you – I don’t know what the future will bring," said House in his recent State of the State Address.
The TEA and its Commissioner, Mike Morath, have also been very limited to the public on information regarding any plans for HISD.
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There are currently seven families who have followed through with filing a Level III Grievance against HISD. Parents tell Fox 26 they are also raising funds for legal representation.
"We're going to do what we need to do to make sure that the parents that are coming behind us won't have to deal with this issue," says Green. "We wanted to make sure that the board put something in writing...making sure that steps are in place, that you can't just put a letter in our son's and our children's backpack and say, you're moving us next school semester."