Fort Worth ISD had three years to correct the issue of Black students in special education getting suspended at a disproportionate rate.
It wasn鈥檛 resolved, and now time鈥檚 up 鈥� the state is intervening.
During the 2021-22 school year, 522 Black students in special education were suspended in Fort Worth ISD compared with 92 white students.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 sit right with me because it鈥檚 not fair,鈥� Taundala Tindle, who has a son in the district鈥檚 special education program, said. 鈥淚 think that white kids get more privileges than Black kids because of the color of their skin, and Black people get treated badly because of the color of their skin. 鈥� That鈥檚 not fair. There shouldn鈥檛 be a color line in between them.鈥�
In the annual , Fort Worth ISD鈥檚 special education department received a 鈥渘eeds intervention鈥� distinction from the state in April. This is a result of a higher proportion of Black students in special education programs getting suspended, the district said.
The Texas Education Agency said this is the third year Fort Worth ISD had these issues, which is primarily what triggered the concern. The district now has to dedicate 15% of its federal special education money to resolving the issue.
Is the state coming to Fort Worth ISD?
The state gathers data in three different areas to determine the needs intervention distinction that goes in the annual report for special education, TEA鈥檚 Deputy Commissioner of Special Populations Jennifer Alexander said. Those areas include academic achievement, post-secondary readiness and disproportionate analysis, which means looking at any student populations with disproportionate data 鈥� such as African American students getting suspended at higher rates.
Each area gets a performance level between zero and four, with zero being the goal with no issues and four indicating problems to be addressed, said Justin Porter, TEA鈥檚 Associate commissioner and chief programs officer.
Beyond the requirement of spending 15% of its federal special education, the state agency has not taken any other action against the district, Porter said. However, if enough areas need intervention, that will trigger a targeted review from the TEA鈥檚 monitoring team.
If the monitoring team came to Fort Worth ISD, it would review the program and make corrective plans, he said.
Institutional changes like discipline take longer to change, Porter said, which is why the state gives districts three years before intervening.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e talking about changing discipline systems for kids, but also how teachers approach behavior, the behavior of certain groups of kids, and that鈥檚 not an easy fix,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd so those sorts of things typically take longer to turn around.鈥�
The state measures certain demographic information in special education, and that is a requirement from the federal government, Porter said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just directing funds that they already get,鈥� Porter said. 鈥淭hey lose autonomy over how that money is spent. Now, federal requirements are messing with their money, and that is always a motivator.鈥�
What is Fort Worth ISD鈥檚 plan?
When Tindle鈥檚 son is suspended from school, he鈥檚 just sitting at home, his mother said. She thinks a better solution would be to let him stay on campus but be in a different room so he can work on his assignments.
Sometimes, he鈥檚 sent home without work and he can鈥檛 log into Zoom for class anymore since schools stopped online learning. Tindle is a single mom who doesn鈥檛 have a driver鈥檚 license or a car, so it鈥檚 almost impossible for her to come get him every time he gets in trouble.
Parents in Fort Worth ISD have told Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, leader of the parent advocacy group , that they have students in the special education program in Fort Worth ISD who are not receiving adequate services. Instead, she said, students are labeled as a discipline problem.
As a parent of a Black child in special education in Fort Worth ISD, Dorsey-Hollins is concerned about the suspension rates of students like her daughter.
鈥淥ur children are already judged and mislabeled, and there鈥檚 already like a silent target on their back just because they鈥檙e Black boys and Black girls already,鈥� she said.
Without better training for teachers, Dorsey-Hollins said, when students act out, teachers think they鈥檙e 鈥渏ust another bad Black kid.鈥�
Without taking the time to nurture children, teachers can overreact, and it can result in suspension for the children, she said.
Corey Golomb, assistant superintendent for specialized support services, knows the district has to improve in the area of Black student suspension in special education settings 鈥� and it鈥檚 something she said she鈥檚 been working on for five years.
Yet, the problem persists.
Golomb鈥檚 department has worked with campuses to help them understand special education students better, alternatives to suspension and culturally responsive strategies, she said.
The solutions are more of an overall look at suspension and discipline among special education students, though. The only solution the district pointed to that could specifically tie back to the high suspension rates of Black students are the culturally responsive strategies.
If a student is removed from a classroom even twice, Golomb said, the district should be working on behavior intervention plans because it means something the staff is doing isn鈥檛 working.
Most issues happen on middle school campuses, she said, so the district has compiled a team across 10 middle schools to work with social workers on trauma responses and, which versus only punishment.
Janice Carter, executive director of special education services, said most special education students in Fort Worth ISD are in general education classrooms 鈥� most students don鈥檛 need to be in a separate classroom all day, so the support also needs to extend to other areas of campuses.
鈥淪ometimes you wonder, is it the disability that鈥檚 causing the discipline? Or is it the discipline that鈥檚 causing the disability? You have to really narrow down to see what is the cause of when children act out,鈥� Golomb said.
An example of a disability causing the discipline issue is often related to autism, Golomb said. A few years ago, a student on the autism spectrum was in a general education classroom when there was a fire drill. The student was not prepared and did not handle loud noises well. He then went under the desk and did not do the drill as he was supposed to.
鈥淗e wouldn鈥檛 move and people got all upset with him,鈥� Golomb said. 鈥淲here it could have been prevented, had they worked with the school and said, 鈥楾his is a disability this child has. He does not react well to loud noises. So let鈥檚 prep him.鈥欌��
An example of the opposite issue 鈥� disability and discipline not being related 鈥� would be a student who has a learning disability bringing drugs to school, Golomb said. The two are not related.
Those are the kind of issues the administration is working to train staff on to help address state concerns.
鈥淎t a lot of our campuses, we鈥檝e noticed improvement,鈥� Golomb said. 鈥淣ow, we鈥檝e had turnover in the district and we鈥檝e had zone changes, we鈥檝e had staff shortages. And I鈥檓 not making excuses 鈥� it鈥檚 just a reality of where we are and that sometimes doesn鈥檛 help. I think it鈥檚 unfortunate. But this pandemic, I don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e seen the last of the impact from this pandemic. I think it鈥檚 going to take a few years to recover from this.鈥�
Parents have to be more involved 鈥� and the schools have to keep them informed 鈥� to resolve this issue, Dorsey-Hollins said. For example, a child might be acting out as a result of their disability 鈥� like Golomb said 鈥� and an adjustment to their learning plan might be the solution, she said.
As a parent, Tindle said that teacher training is important. She knows , but that doesn鈥檛 mean people should be put in classrooms without training on how to help special education students.
She tries to see both sides of the matter. Tindle knows children can be disrespectful and teachers are overworked and underpaid. However, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 their job and yelling and cussing and being disrespectful to (students), that鈥檚 not fair to them either,鈥� Tindle said.
鈥淕ive (students) something to look forward to, to make them want to come to school and want to do the work,鈥� Tindle said. 鈥淟et them be able to come home and tell their parents something good.鈥�
Tindle鈥檚 son wants to play football next year. He loves to play games and spend time with his friends. Tindle knows he sometimes misbehaves, and she makes him face those consequences. What she wants is for other children to face the same consequences, too.
Kristen Barton is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at kristen.barton@fortworthreport.org.
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