Presently, both an attorney with DRTx and a parent named in the complaint have spoken about the matter.
Lashawn Stanfield's 11-year-old son Jiovanni attends school at ECISD and is diagnosed with ADHD. Stanfield suspects that he is on the autism spectrum and requested for him to be evaluated for special education.
“They told me that I would need to fill out an application, which I did with this current principal at the beginning of the school year last year," Stanfield said. "After I filled out the application, I kept checking in with her to see what the status was and she told me that there was a waiting list for evaluations."
Due to his ADHD and other issues, Jiovanni struggles when stressed, and it has caused incidents at school which have led to erratic behavior.
One such incident happened after he had left class to calm himself down and walked to the playground.
“In that instance, they went out there and instead of waiting for him to calm down, it was more of an angry ‘you’re in trouble, get inside now’ kind of thing," Stanfield said. "So it was just making him more angry. So he was just refusing to go inside, so they called the police.”
That was the breaking point for Stanfield, as she began reaching out to different sources asking for help.
This led her to DRTx, the group that filed the complaint.
They claim that the district hasn't been following federal laws and certain processes, such as federally mandated timelines that schools have to follow.
“Specifically the timelines that students have to be evaluated for special education services," Tabitha Dwyer of Disability Rights Texas said. "We’re blowing past those timelines for hundred of students within the district.”
ECISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri agrees with the issues, saying that this is a problem that affects not just the local level, but the state level.
“In addition to that we have significant staffing shortages, such as diagnosticians. That particular position is the individual that assesses students and determine if they are in need of special education services or not," Dr. Muri said. "So not only do we have a shortage of that particular profession or that particular role at ECISD but across the state."
ECISD has created a diagnostician pipeline to try and get more of them into their system and have contracted outside sources.
But Dwyer says more needs to be done, and she is hoping that the TEA step in to have ECISD comply.
“That's part of what we've asked from the Texas Education Agency to order," Dwyer said. "We've asked the TEA to order the district to revisit those policies, more training."
At the end of the day, there are still over 500 students on the ECISD waiting list to get evaluated and they are the ones affected the most.
"I don't think they realize the impact it's making on these kids. I know that my son is not the only one, but really they've neglected it and neglected him and kind of failed him in a way," Stanfield said. "He has lost almost a year and a half of services that he should've been getting."
Meanwhile, ECISD released an email statement regarding the incident saying the following:
"We became aware late this afternoon of a complaint filed with the Texas Education Agency. The main issue is one our school district has been fighting for several years, a severe shortage of diagnosticians and speech pathologists, resulting in longer waits for students to be evaluated.
This is an issue facing school districts across the state. A typical evaluation can take up to 12 hours from initial parent contact to the full evaluation and then writing the report. Not only are evaluations required for new students, but full evaluations for qualified students are required again after three years.
In an effort to provide students the support they need, ECISD has taken several steps to increase the availability of qualified diagnosticians:
1. Paying ECISD diagnosticians additional compensation to conduct reviews on Saturdays
2. Contracting with retired diagnosticians locally, and with others from across the state
3. Contracting with, and sometimes hiring full-time, virtual diagnosticians from elsewhere in Texas
4. Created a diagnostician pipeline program with the University of Texas Permian Basin and Sul Ross State University, in which ECISD provides funding for candidates to pursue certification. Currently, 4 people are in that program.
5. Has $1.6 million in contracts in place with companies to help with speech evaluations and educational testing
ECISD is committed to its children and families. With new leadership in place in the Special Education Department, our staff will continue to do all we can to provide the evaluation and support needed for our children to be successful."