Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Boerne ISD reports large rise in special-education and dyslexia caseloads
Summary
District staff told trustees on March 24 that special-education enrollment has risen sharply over four years, driven in part by dyslexia identifications and post‑COVID referral rates; the district also described growth in its 18–21 transition program and community employer partnerships.
Boerne ISD officials reported a substantial increase in students served under special-education and Section 504 plans at the March 24 Board of Trustees meeting, saying the district now serves 2,037 students in special education.
The increase matters because it changes staffing, service and budget needs across campuses. "We currently have 2,037 students," said Annie Sider, the board's special-education presenter, as she walked trustees through four years of district data showing roughly a 200–250 student rise in recent years.
Sider told trustees the growth reflects two main drivers: a post‑COVID rise in parent referrals and changes to state dyslexia guidance. "This also, when we look at this, we have a 63 students as of October. It's up to 1,118 as of today," she said, referring to the number of students identified with dyslexia under the district's combined special-education and Section 504 counts. Sider said the state guidance led to some students receiving special-education designations when they were receiving multi‑year, direct dyslexia instruction.
Trustees pressed for context. Rich Senna asked about the scale of the rise; Sider said the district previously reported about 1,356 students and that House Bill changes and diagnostic practices opened a wider qualification pathway for specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia. "They changed in the last couple years, they've opened that qualifying area under that specific learning disability, and that's what kind of opened the floodgate," she said.
District staff also described program-level responses. The 18–21 transition program now serves 13 students and the district projects about 20 next year; the program offers a PAES lab for workplace simulation, resume building, self‑advocacy training and independent‑living instruction. Sider said the district partners with local agencies — including the Arc of San Antonio and the Texas Workforce Commission — and local businesses (examples cited: H‑E‑B, Walgreens, Costco) to provide practicum, volunteer and employment opportunities for students.
Board members highlighted community supports that help the program, including the KC Kids fair partnership and the Boerne Grama Market, where life‑skills students sell items they produce. Trustees asked about staffing ratios and whether students who enter the 18–21 program are primarily Boerne ISD graduates; Sider said most are district students and that staffing varies by student need.
Clarifying details presented to the board included: the district's special-education total of 2,037 (PEIMS October snapshot referenced for trend comparison), dyslexia-related identifications rising to 1,118, the 18–21 program enrollment of 13 with an expected 20 next year, and multiple community employer partners used for job coaching and practicums.
The board did not take a policy vote on special education at the meeting; trustees heard the report and asked questions about services, transitions and community partnerships. Sider and trustees said the district will continue to monitor referrals and staffing needs as state guidance and local demand evolve.
Ending: Board members praised the partnerships and pledged continued oversight as growth continues to affect staffing and programming costs. "We are very blessed to live in a community," Trustee (and board member) Rich Senna said during the discussion.
