Parents and advocates press United ISD board over special education concerns

Several parents, special education staff and advocates urged the United Independent School District Board of Trustees on Feb. 12 to investigate and correct problems they said are affecting students with disabilities.

Geraldine Botello, a special education educator, told the board she has worked with students with disabilities for 21 years and said the district’s special education “legal document” — the ARD/IEP — requires monitoring and resources. “Our special education leaders provide all the resources available to the students to succeed,” Botello said, describing services and a district center that focuses on job readiness.

The public commenters included multiple parents who said they faced intimidation or insufficient responses from campus staff. Abir Al Haddad, a parent at San Ysidro Elementary School, said she was “belittled, humiliated, and intimidated” by a campus counselor after she refused fundraising requests and described an unresolved grievance she filed regarding counseling practices and interactions with her child.

Other speakers pressed the board for transparency and stronger oversight of special education spending and staffing. Leticia “Leti” Juarez requested attendance and outcomes data for an ACE after-school program that the district expanded; she said the board approved additional funding and asked for monthly attendance by grade, and a comparison of students’ STAR scores before and after program participation. Edna Olmeda, speaking as a community advocate, urged accountability for spending and staffing in special education and said the community will “be watching.”

Two speakers described legal escalations. Edward Delagarza said parents had contacted state law-enforcement and oversight bodies, including the Texas Department of Public Safety public-corruption unit, the Texas attorney general’s office and the Texas Rangers, to request case reviews and investigations into district handling of alleged misconduct; Delagarza urged the board to explain its actions to families of alleged victims.

Valentin Valeruiz, who identified himself as available to parents and students seeking help, criticized district reporting of test results and alleged that changes to standards had been hidden from the public. He told the board, “The 40 is a new 70,” a phrase he used to argue that lowered passing thresholds mask failures in achievement.

The board did not take any immediate formal action during the public-comment period. Several speakers asked the board to add agenda items or reports so the community can review participation and outcome data and to pursue reforms in grievance and spending oversight.

Board members and staff acknowledged the comments on the record and later moved through the meeting agenda. The district’s superintendent reported earlier in the meeting on state-level advocacy for funding and special education resources but the speakers asked for specific local actions and follow-up reports.

The public-comment segment on special education and related grievance issues lasted through multiple speakers and spurred requests that the board present data and consider strengthening procedures for oversight and accountability.