Austin ISD will transition to new special education data system

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Independent School District leaders said on Thursday they plan to get a new data system to track more than 13,000 students who receive special education services. The change comes as the district's special education department enters its second year under state intervention.

The district said on Thursday it has completed 75% of the requirements to rehabilitate its special education department under the agreement with the Texas Education Agency and in February, the district said it cleared the backlog of students who were waiting longer than state and federal law allows for special education evaluations.

At one point, the waitlist for evaluations included thousands of students. TEA investigators outlined in an April 2023 investigative report the district waited as long as nine months, in some cases, to evaluate students who were suspected of needing services.

Dr. Dru McGovern-Robinett, who for over a year has overseen the district's effort to come into compliance with state and federal special education laws, told KXAN in November 2023 that there was no centralized system for teachers to request students be evaluated before her tenure.

Austin ISD trustees have also publicly commented on being unable to track how behind they were on evaluations before the new board focused the administration on the special education backlog.

"It was very concerning and then the team had started to identify that as being very concerning as I came on board, but it is connected to more than a single entry point. A system overall then has to have a strong communication plan to any and all members of it," McGovern-Robinett said to KXAN during an interview in November 2023.

Segura said on Thursday that last year the district managed to create a system for tracking special education evaluations, but under the new system, the superintendent said teachers and administrators on the campus level will have better access to the individualized education plans and accommodations that result from student evaluations.

"What it allows us to now [...] the accommodations that are in the [individualized education plan] are accessible to every single educator supporting that student. When you're in high school, and you have six different teachers, you might have a different accommodation for when you are in art versus if you are in a geography or science class," Segura said.

Segura said he will oversee the 18-week data system transition and expects it to be working by next school year, specifically Sept. 1, 2025. The superintendent did not answer whether the vendor for the new data system will be a company that has previously worked with the district or a new contractor.

The change will also happen as the district searches for a new person to lead the special education department. McGovern-Robinett will retire in the new year.