Texas Listening Sessions

Representatives from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) will be conducting a series of Listening Sessions in Texas during the week of December 12. The schedule and location for the Listening Sessions are below.

For those unable to attend the listening sessions, the purpose of this blog is to provide members of the public an opportunity to provide comment regarding the timely identification, evaluation and the appropriate provision of special education and related services to all eligible children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In an October 3, 2016 letter to Texas Commissioner Mike Morath, OSERS raised concerns regarding Texas’s compliance with a number of requirements of IDEA. The State responded to OSERS’ letter on November 2, 2016.

OSERS and the TEA are interested in hearing from the public, including parents, family members, students, advocates, school personnel and other stakeholders. OSERS has set up this blog for interested parties to submit written comments. This blog will be open for comments from December 5, 2016 through January 6, 2017.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as children or school personnel names, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. Under no circumstances will comments be allowed to remain that contain Social Security numbers, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, or similar personally identifiable information, such as children or school personnel names.


Schedule and Locations for Texas Listening Sessions

Dallas, Monday, Dec. 12
6:00 pm–8:00 pm
Region 10—Richardson
400 E. Spring Valley Road
Richardson, TX 75081-5101
972-348-1536

Houston, Monday, Dec. 12
6:00 pm–8:00 pm
McKinney Conference Center, Room 100 A-F
7200 Northwest 100 Drive
Houston, TX 77092
713-462-7708

El Paso, Tuesday, Dec. 13
6:00 pm–8:00 pm
Region 19—El Paso
6611 Boeing Drive
El Paso, TX 79925
915-780-6570

Edinburg, Tuesday, Dec. 13
6:00 pm–8:00 pm
Region 1—Edinburg
1900 West Schunior
Edinburg, TX 78541-2234
956-984-6180

Austin, Thursday, Dec. 15
6:00 pm–8:00 pm
Region 13—Austin
5701 Springdale Road
Austin, TX 78723-3675
512-919-5313

These meeting sites are accessible to individuals with disabilities, and sign language interpreters and Spanish language translation will be available. If anyone needs special accommodations, please contact the Education Service Center directly at the telephone number provided.