Houston ISD is moving forward with significant changes to special education programs despite an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.

Families, educators, and community members have raised serious concerns about the district's chaotic rollout of these changes and the potential harmful impact on students with disabilities. Before any further implementation occurs, HISD must pause these programming changes and allow for proper legal review, transparency, and community engagement.

Key concerns include:

• An active Office for Civil Rights investigation related to the district's special education changes.

• Widespread programming changes for next school year were initiated in May through letters and phone calls without following established special education decision-making processes and federal law.

• An inconsistent rollout across campuses, coupled with a lack of meaningful stakeholder engagement and campus-level input, has created confusion among families, educators, and school administrators.

• Failure to provide the HISD Board and community with clear research, projected outcomes, and implementation details before announcing major changes.

HISD's own Board policy, Superintendent Constraint #3, requires significant program changes to be supported by community input, research, and projected outcomes.

We call on HISD and the Board of Managers to pause implementation of the "Special Education Success Plan" while investigations are underway, conduct a transparent review of the proposal, and ensure that any future changes comply with federal law, Board policy, and the rights of students with disabilities.

Sign this petition to protect the rights of students with disabilities in Houston ISD.