HISD eliminated 21 contractor positions in the district’s Office of Special Education Services due to appointed Superintendent Mike Miles’ efforts to focus on hiring full-time employees.
The cuts came following a review conducted by the office in mid-June into the services provided by contracted employees to evaluate for potential lay-offs. Despite this office's decreased staff, the district has not fired any special education teachers and is recruiting more, according to a statement from HISD.
HISD actively has an “adequate number” of district-employed diagnosticians and plans to continue hiring independently contracted speech pathologists and licensed school psychologists. If additional services are required for students with disabilities, the district will continue to utilize any contracted provider needed.
In the past, Miles’ has announced potential plans related to special education reforms, including raising special education instructors’ pay and evaluating principals based on factoring in special education-related results. These targeted changes come in the wake of HISD’s long-standing history of falling short of detecting, supporting and instructing students with disabilities.
Although these terminations are aimed at contracted employees, Miles has also reduced district-employed staff positions ahead of this school year. Nearly 600 people in HISD’s Central Office were fired, and more than 1,600 vacant positions were eliminated to account for the flexibility needed in the budget for Miles’ New Education System-related reforms.
HISD’s statement on terminating these contractor positions:
Superintendent Miles has made a clear commitment to students with special education needs and their families. Every school in HISD will meet the needs of all students, students with special education needs will achieve at high levels, and HISD staff on campuses and in the central office will be accountable for the success of our students with special education needs. Compliance will be the rule; exceptional instruction for all students will be the expectation.
Houston ISD has not released special education teachers. We are currently recruiting for special education teacher positions.
As part of the Superintendent's commitment that HISD must preference dedicated, full-time employees to serve its students, in mid-June, the Houston ISD Office of Special Education Service initiated a review of the services provided by contract service providers. Houston ISD currently has an adequate number of district-employed diagnosticians, and as a result, we terminated the contracts of 21 independent contractors. The district will continue to contract with other independent service providers for speech-language pathology and licensed school psychologists to ensure we can meet the needs of students. If additional services are required to support students with disabilities, the district will continue to utilize contracted independent service providers to ensure that the needs of these students are met.
