Special‑education director says South San ISD is progressing on TEA corrective action plan
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Summary
Director Jacob Collazo told the board the district has made progress on a multiyear TEA corrective action plan for special education, expects to clear many pending items soon, and has shortened internal timelines to improve compliance and services.
Jacob Collazo, South San Antonio ISD director of special education, briefed the board on Nov. 17 about department staffing, program structure and progress toward resolving long‑standing TEA noncompliance. Collazo said the district is “making progress” on the corrective action plan and that, if pending clearances come through, the district could be roughly 50% of the way out of the corrective action status on items tied to last school year.
Collazo outlined staffing (about 78 teachers and 58 teacher assistants in special education), four self‑contained programs (including early childhood special education and life skills classrooms) and transition training for older students (e.g., community training, bus-riding, banking skills). He described systems added since his June arrival: monitoring logs, random folder audits TEA requests, reflection logs for missed deadlines and coaching supports for teachers. Collazo said the district has biweekly monitoring with TEA and could move to less frequent check-ins if indicators clear.
On timelines, Collazo restated statutory and district targets: a district must respond in writing to a referral within 15 days, complete testing within 45 school days (South San ISD aims for 40), and hold initial qualification meetings within 30 days (the district is targeting 25). Trustees asked about third‑party review and Region 20 support; Collazo said Region 20 liaisons and an assigned mentor provide external checks and that district leaders meet monthly with those liaisons.
Trustees praised the work and asked for continued focus on sustainability and staffing; Collazo acknowledged some vacancies (one or two teacher openings and a few paraprofessional needs) and said retention stipends and targeted hiring are in place. He cautioned that final clearance from TEA depends on this year’s reported data, so technical exit from the corrective action plan would likely occur after data are reported next school year.
What’s next: District staff will continue biweekly monitoring with TEA and report progress to the board; the district expects any formal TEA clearance to follow evidence in next year’s data-reporting cycle.
Sources: Presentation by Jacob Collazo, South San Antonio ISD director of special education, Nov. 17, 2025.