Tell us about special education in Texas

Houston Public Media and Texas Newsroom, a collaboration between NPR and state radio stations, are exploring the shortcomings of Texas’ special education system.

For the first time, we hope to draw a detailed portrait of how dollars are spent on special education in each area. Resources are already exhausted – and many counties are allocating large sums for legal representation against families asking for more Servicesinstead of increasing services.

We also examine the impact of the “teacher shortage” on the special education system, as well as the complex matrix of federal laws and court cases that have stacked the deck in favor of counties over families.

And we want to provide quick and easy-to-read instructions for first-time families to join the system. We will explain what an ARD meeting is, what your rights are, and how to file a complaint if the services do not meet the requirements.

We have already sent hundreds of requests for open records, and now we are looking for sources – parents, students, advocates and teachers. We want to focus the voices of those who are closest to this story.