Austin ISD completes TEA Agreed Order, released from state oversight

After nearly three years of intensive efforts to transform our special education services, Austin ISD has successfully completed all required actions under our Special Education Agreed Order with the Texas Education Agency and has been formally released from state oversight.

Achieving this milestone and getting to this point for the district has been about more than compliance. It’s been about transforming the special education experience for students with disabilities and their families, ensuring services are delivered with quality, consistency and care.

“By elevating the quality of our evaluations and the integrity of our service delivery, we have turned a period of intense work into a profound opportunity to grow and deepen our commitment to the families we serve,” Superintendent Matias Segura said.

This effort required an extraordinary lift across the district. As part of the commitment to transformation, district teams have:

Completed over 10,000 evaluations and meetings to ensure every student receives tailored support and services without delay.
Established clear, district-wide standards for every campus, ensuring a consistent experience no matter which school a child attends.
Designed and implemented a districtwide support plan to make sure every child gets the right level of support at the right time. Whether through high-quality classroom instruction or personalized support with lessons and behavior, Austin ISD staff ensures teaching aligns with each child's unique learning style.
Grown the special education team by more than 250 specialized providers and evaluators, all supported by 120,000 hours of professional learning to establish shared practices and high expectations.
Launched a new digital management platform to ensure accurate and timely reporting of each child’s services.
Hosted 100+ family engagement sessions to strengthen trust and ensure families feel informed and empowered as partners.

Every system built and every hour of training completed has been for one purpose: ensuring students with disabilities achieve at the highest levels. The district is now seeing clear, measurable signs that the system is responding to this commitment, with student growth leading the way.

In 3rd Grade Reading, 2024–25 STAAR results for students with disabilities show students outperformed the state average by 3 percentage points, a clear sign that the focus on early literacy is working.
In second grade reading and numeracy, data shows double-digit drops in the percentage of students with disabilities needing academic interventions.
In 1st grade, data shows fewer students flagging at-risk for dyslexia on the First Grade Dyslexia Screener, which is a strong sign of strengthened core literacy instruction.

While being released from the Order is a major milestone, it is not the finish line. This systemwide approach to high standards of practice has given a powerful foundation. Our next chapter is dedicated to deepening inclusive practices and ensuring that every student receiving special education services has access to high-quality, specialized instruction aligned to grade-level standards. The district will continue to invest in our teachers and staff so they have the tools to help every child thrive.

Background

An Update on Special Education from Interim Superintendent Matias Segura (en español)

March 23, 2023

Trustees call special voting meeting for March 30 (en español)

March 27, 2023

Austin ISD Board of Trustees Addresses Special Education Conservatorship (en español)

March 31, 2023

Austin ISD to request informal review of TEA Special Education Conservatorship (en español)

April 17, 2023

An Update on Special Education (En español)

May 11, 2023

An Update on Special Education (En español)