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Austin ISD reports MTSS rollout and gaps in special‑education documentation to TEA; district moves to tighten progress monitoring
Summary
Austin ISD officials told trustees that the district implemented an MTSS system this year but that TEA’s spot review found inconsistent documentation of interventions and progress monitoring in the ECST tracking system.
Austin ISD administrators on June 12 reported progress implementing a Multi‑Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) under a Texas Education Agency (TEA) agreed order and described gaps found by TEA in intervention documentation and progress monitoring.
Assistant Superintendent Mary Anne Maxwell told the board the district developed an MTSS manual, trained principals and teachers, purchased tier‑2 and tier‑3 interventions, and ran district‑level calibration and walk‑throughs this school year. The rollout included a large district MTSS conference and multiple campus visits. Maxwell said classroom routines and behavior management tended to score high in walk‑throughs, while tier‑1 instructional consistency and progress‑monitoring fidelity needed further work.
TEA performed a random verification of ECST (intervention documentation) records from 24 campuses and found documentation gaps in CST meeting minutes, specifics of earlier interventions, and evidence that progress monitoring was completed with sufficient frequency and that the results were used to inform instructional decisions. District staff said in some cases the interventions and monitoring happened in practice but were not fully entered into ECST, the district’s intervention tracking system.
Maxwell described district actions to address the problems: required CST chair training; an expectation that campuses submit a CST meeting schedule and follow a common progress‑monitoring cadence; additional onboarding for newly hired interventionists; and executive‑director‑led fidelity checks and follow‑up coaching. Staff also said they will require more explicit documentation in ECST and will help campuses enter data by scheduling district supports and dedicated time for staff to update records.
The district acknowledged variance in walk‑through scores between internal and outside observations — outside reviewers showed higher scores — and leaders said continued calibration is necessary. The board asked for further clarity and for metrics tracking progress in documentation and parental notifications related to interventions.
Maxwell and colleagues said two final MTSS deliverables are due to TEA on June 30, including the comprehensive implementation report and a PEIMS submission showing accurate intervention coding. District leaders said they will continue coaching and will include more targeted work on progress monitoring as a top priority for 2025–26.
