A sweeping new report from the Texas Education Leadership Lab at UT Austin reveals alarming trends in Texas public schools’ long-term failure to comply with federal special education law. The report, which evaluates 25 years of implementation under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), highlights deep and systemic issues across school districts, from inequitable access to services to troubling demographic disparities.
Among the most striking findings: nearly 1 in 5 school districts in Texas are consistently noncompliant with IDEA mandates, despite federal requirements guaranteeing students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education. Black students remain overrepresented in special education classifications, while Asian students are still significantly underrepresented, pointing to persistent racial bias in evaluation and placement.
While the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has increased overall, students with more severe disabilities have seen little to no progress in terms of integration or support. The report also identifies a troubling equity gap: wealthier schools are more likely to offer inclusive services than those serving less affluent student populations.
Furthermore, as Texas AFT has consistently pointed out, charter schools serve fewer students with disabilities than public schools, and that gulf has expanded over time. The data raises questions, as the report notes, about how charter schools market themselves to students of all disability statuses and whether they do so at all, as they have claimed.
Among the report’s other findings is something our members know all too well: special education teacher turnover is rising, threatening program stability and quality at a time when districts face mounting staffing shortages and accountability pressures. The reasons for this turnover are many, but the demands of the job and Texas’s persistent underfunding are at the root. In our most recent membership survey, under 6% of special education teachers and paraprofessionals said they felt as if they could effectively meet the needs of their students with the resources and support they’ve been given.
The report underscores that despite decades of legal obligation, Texas continues to fall short in delivering equitable, inclusive, and effective education to students with disabilities. As policymakers debate the future of public education in Texas, these findings demand urgent attention and action.
Read the full report from the Texas Education Leadership Lab here.