CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — CCISD is one of two school districts in the state being accused of discrimination and violating federal education and civil rights laws.
The complaints, filed Tuesday with the Department of Justice and Texas Education Agency were brought forth by four different civil rights groups.
The other school district being accused is Bonham ISD north of Dallas.
At the core of the complaint made against CCISD, it's alleged there is a trend in which students with disabilities are pushed into truancy court where they are often ordered to drop out or attend a GED program rather than receiving necessary educational services.
These are the four different agencies which have filed the complaints, Texas Appleseed, Disability Rights Texas, National Center for Youth Law and Texas Civil Rights Project.
The complaint to the TEA was filed on behalf of students who have disabilities in CCISD who are said to have been forced out of school through the overuse of truancy court referrals.
The agencies say this discriminates against students with disabilities and ultimately removes them from classroom instruction, violating their right to a free public education.
There are five alleged violations:
- CCISD did not identify or evaluate students suspected of having disabilities, contrary to the requirements of idea and section 504.
- CCISD recommended students for GED programs without proper reevaluation.
- CCISD failed to provide necessary special education and related services to address attendance issues.
- CCISD did not accommodate students whose absences were related to their disabilities.
- CCISD did not implement required truancy prevention measures in violation of Texas law.
It also states, during the 2021-2022 school year, at least 13% of the 1,146 students referred to truancy court were receiving special education services.
The groups say this referral rate is significantly higher than other districts in Corpus Christi.
“Both districts are using truancy court as a means of pushing students out of school instead of considering and trying to help with the struggles our clients face inside and outside of the classroom,” said Dustin Rynders, Legal Director with the Texas Civil Rights Project. “These students are not missing class because they want to, but because their health requires them to do so. Students deserve to have support and understanding from school officials; instead, CCISD and BISD serve them with truancy notices. We filed these complaints because no student should be at risk of having their education taken away from them by the hands of the school district.”
CCISD responded to our request for a statement regarding the matter.
"CCISD has not received notice from the Texas Education Agency regarding a complaint of this nature. CCISD educators are dedicated to helping all students progress in their education to the fullest extent of their capabilities. Additionally, CCISD addresses discipline within the Student Code of Conduct and expects all student disciplinary action to be addressed equitably. We are aware of reports that a complaint has been made to the Texas Education Agency, and are glad to fully cooperate with the agency as needed. Due to student privacy laws, we cannot speak publicly regarding specific disciplinary matters."
The groups are calling on the TEA to investigate and said CCISD must revise their policies and train staff to ensure compliance with the law as well as provide students with reimbursement for fines.
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