🚨 URGENT: The EPISD Board of Trustees is preparing to make budget decisions that could further impact Special Education services. Educational Diagnostician positions have already been cut. Every delay in evaluation, every reduction in staffing, and every loss of support affects real children and real families. We have only days before the June 15 meeting to make our voices heard. Join us in demanding that EPISD protect Special Education funding, staffing, evaluations, therapies, and services for students with disabilities. 

As parents, caregivers, educators, and community members, we understand that EPISD is facing difficult financial decisions. However, students with disabilities should not bear the burden of a budget crisis.

Recent reports indicate that Educational Diagnostician positions have already been eliminated. For many families, this is deeply concerning because diagnosticians are often the gateway to Special Education services. They help identify disabilities, conduct evaluations, interpret results, and ensure students receive the support they need to succeed.

But this fight is about more than diagnosticians.

This petition is about protecting Special Education as a whole.

It is about protecting evaluations, therapies, classroom supports, specialized instruction, accommodations, assistive technology, transportation services, behavioral supports, and the dedicated professionals who make those services possible.

Students receiving Special Education services are not receiving an advantage. They are receiving the support necessary to access the same educational opportunities as their peers. Many already face challenges related to autism, speech and language delays, learning disabilities, developmental delays, emotional disabilities, physical disabilities, and other conditions that impact their ability to learn without additional support.

When staffing is reduced, evaluations are delayed.

When evaluations are delayed, services are delayed.

When services are delayed, children fall further behind.

For many students, early intervention and timely support can make a lifelong difference. Lost time cannot be recovered. A missed evaluation, delayed therapy, or reduced support may affect a child's academic progress, communication skills, behavior, independence, and future opportunities.

Special Education is not a luxury.

It is not optional.

It is a federally protected right.

Students with disabilities deserve qualified staff, adequate resources, timely evaluations, and meaningful access to the services they need to thrive.

We respectfully ask the EPISD Board of Trustees to protect Special Education funding, staffing, programs, resources, and student services from further reductions. We also urge district leadership to prioritize the restoration of critical Special Education positions that have already been eliminated, including positions responsible for evaluations, intervention services, communication support, and specialized instruction. These professionals are essential to ensuring students with disabilities receive timely services and meaningful access to their education.

We urge district leadership to explore every available alternative before making additional cuts that could negatively impact students with disabilities. Our children need more support, not less. Restoring these positions would demonstrate a commitment to the students, families, and educators who rely on Special Education services every day.

The June 15 Board Meeting is only days away.

Our children cannot wait.

By signing this petition, you are standing with students with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who support them every day. You are sending a clear message that Special Education must remain a priority in EPISD.

Please sign and share today.