TEA asks how Unidos will handle special education and dyslexia supports in year one

TEA special populations staff asked Unidos how the proposed charter would meet state and federal special education requirements during its first year without a dedicated director of student supports.

Micah Lopez, the board secretary and a special‑education professional, told the panel he will use his experience to help build policies and procedures. He said the board will conduct compliance audits and monitor dates and IEP implementation while the superintendent oversees day‑to‑day special education compliance in year one.

Applicants said a special education teacher and paraprofessionals will provide direct instruction and manage IEP due dates, and that the campus administrator (the proposed superintendent) brings prior experience with IEP implementation. The team added that the PEIMS coordinator will manage state submissions for special education data.

On dyslexia supports, the applicants said they expect to serve about six to seven students with dyslexia in year one and plan to train teachers during the UNIDOS Strong Start so general‑education teachers can implement accommodations. Jennifer Rosas said the team has not yet selected a specific dyslexia program and would keep instruction coherent with the core instructional materials; the curriculum review team would consider an additional program later if tier‑2 and tier‑3 supports proved insufficient.

TEA staff asked how often the board would review student‑performance data; Unidos said the college and career readiness committee will present data monthly and the board will compare results to KPIs and interim goals.