Bianca Seward/Houston Public Media
Houston ISD Deputy Superintendent Kristen Hole speaks to the board of managers about special education services on May 14, 2026.
Parents, teachers and students spoke out against Houston ISD’s move to centralize special education services at the district’s school board meeting Thursday night.
The plan, announced last week after several news outlets including Houston Public Media reported on the proposed changes, taps some schools as special education hubs and would move thousands of students in special education to 150 campuses in order to access their classes and programs.
The move prompted the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to open an investigation into HISD for potentially violating the rights of students with disabilities.
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“I want to ask this board, where was the community input for a decision of this magnitude?” asked HISD parent Kristen McClintock Garson. “What research was done to evaluate the impact on students, families, teachers and campuses?”
McClintock Garson’s 8-year-old son, Ellis, is autistic, she said. They learned last week because of the changes being implemented, Ellis’ particular special education program will no longer be offered at the school in their neighborhood.
“We are being asked to choose between keeping him at his home school where the services do not match his [individualized education plan] or moving him to an entirely different campus where he does not have friends,” McClintock Garson said. “Neither option is appropriate for his needs.”
Many speakers became emotional during their short speeches to the board, pleading with district leaders to reconsider the changes.
“This is not an educational change,” Margaret Alvarez said. “It is an eviction from his support system.”
Alvarez said her 11-year-old son, Knox, is also autistic. She raised concerns over last-minute changes and said for children with autism, routines aren’t a preference, they are a necessity.
“I need you to reconsider this decision so that Knox and every child in this district continues to have the safe, predictable environment they are legally owed,” she said.
RELATED: HISD under federal investigation over plans to restructure special education services
The district defended its forthcoming changes and, for now, is still moving forward with the plans despite the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights opening a federal investigation into the district over the changes. The investigation, opened just two days after the district announced their changes, seeks to learn if the updates to special education violate the rights of students with disabilities.
In a news release announcing the investigation, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said placement decisions must be made individually based on students’ needs rather than by blanket policies that segregate students by disability category.
Federal law requires students with disabilities to be taught in the “least restrictive environment,” which means they must be taught alongside their peers without disabilities whenever appropriate.
“The allegations described here are alarming,” Richey said. “The Trump Administration will fully investigate this situation and fight to ensure every child with a disability receives the education and support guaranteed under the law.”
RELATED: Houston ISD announces plans to centralize special education services
Thursday night was the first time state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles publicly addressed the updates to special education.
“There’s a lot of misinformation,” Miles said. “We will have the same services, except that they will be delivered more effectively now.”
Deputy Superintendent Kristen Hole formally presented the updates to the special education program to the state-appointed board of managers.
She highlighted one goal of the changes is to limit the number of children in different grades in one classroom. Hole said prior to the updates, 65% of teachers in self-contained special education programs supported three or more grade levels in a single classroom. Next year the district will limit that to two grade levels in one classroom.
She added that 90% of families who reached out to the district to learn about the special education changes responded “positively” to the updates. Several members of the community seated in the audience laughed at Hole when she made the claim.
Neither Miles nor Hole acknowledged the federal investigation.
HISD previously said in a statement, “Any review will show that all special education updates for the 2026–27 school year focus on increasing access to services in the least restrictive environment, strengthening systems to improve the quality of instruction, and improving student outcomes. “
The district’s press office added, “because this is an active investigation, the district cannot comment further on specific allegations or matters under review.”