Fort Worth, TX: Parents want district to deliver on promised SPED services
They don’t attend the same school. They aren’t in the same grade. They don’t even share a diagnosis.
But Kim Medford’s seventh grader and Ashish Talwar’s first grader share one thing: a parent who says making sure Fort Worth ISD follows their special education plan has become a second job.
As cars buzzed by, the two stood outside the gates of FWISD’s District Service Center alongside other parents and advocates from Literacy Fort Worth. They want the district to make special education meetings work for children — and to prove the services it promises actually reach the classroom.
Both parents want FWISD to do its job.
“I’m a nurse by trade, but I’ve become my son’s caseworker,” Medford said.
“It’s not our job to act as daily auditors,” Talwar said.
Caroline James, executive director of Literacy Fort Worth, said parents shouldn’t have to become full-time case managers to make sure their children get basic support. James has attended more than 100 special education meetings in 10 Tarrant County districts. None are doing a great job, she said.
“We are failing students and families at scale,” James said.
FWISD Deputy Superintendent Mohammed Choudhury said in a statement the district checks service records against each student’s plan and monitors progress.
“When services are missed, the district documents and reviews the circumstances, assesses the impact on the student, and takes corrective action to address gaps in service delivery,” Choudhury wrote.
Medford said she spent three and a half years pushing FWISD to test her son, Noah, for learning disabilities. Noah was reading at a first-grade level when he started sixth grade last year.
“Dyslexia should be diagnosed as early as possible because the intervention can occur early,” said Rogers, who mentors FWISD elementary students. . . .
The first teacher read the email — two weeks after Medford sent it, she said. After reading the email, the teacher told her it explained what she’d seen in class. That teacher has since resigned, Medford said.
Another teacher told Medford that Noah would need to ask for his accommodations in class.
Medford asked the crowd in front of the District Service Center to imagine being a seventh grader who is far behind his classmates and knows it.
“Would you even raise your hand as an adult in front of your peers?” Medford said.
Choudhury said general education teachers have access to their students’ individualized education programs, are told which accommodations they’re responsible for and receive training from special education staff.
Medford said Noah’s dyslexia teacher recently told her that he was doing great and close to not needing services.
“How is that even possible?” Medford said. “And he’s failing reading right now with a 30.”
Talwar’s son attends an A-rated elementary school. That hasn’t made his son’s plan any easier to enforce, he said.
Talwar’s son spends much of his school day in a self-contained classroom, but his plan requires him to spend specific amounts of time learning alongside his peers in a general education classroom. A staff member should take him between classes each day.
But that wasn’t the case. Talwar said his son didn’t receive general education classroom time for months in kindergarten. He raised those concerns with campus leadership, which blamed staffing constraints.
Choudhury said a student’s admission, review and dismissal committee, which includes the parent, decides whether the district must make up for missed services.
The issue returned in August when Talwar’s son started first grade. He said his son’s plan wasn’t followed during the first few weeks of school.
Talwar raised his concern with Superintendent Peter Licata during a listening session. Licata provided incorrect information, Talwar said. FWISD spokesperson Evan Anderson did not respond to a question about Talwar’s exchange with the superintendent. . . .
“Our students deserve a system that sees them, hears them and serves them — not a system that hides behind computer screens,” she said.
FWISD campuses need clear, consistent processes, said Rebecca Montgomery, a Literacy Roundup volunteer. Parents should know who to contact, how to submit a request and what they can expect in response. . . .
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