Parents and veteran urge Comal ISD board to fix special-education communication, safety plans

At the Oct. 23 Kamala ISD Board of Trustees meeting, public comment focused on alleged lapses in special-education procedures and family notification.

Kevin Samuelson, who described himself as a veteran and district advocate, urged the board to “live” selfless service and called for accountability and transparency after what he said were prior grievances. Samuelson said he had taken district actions to federal court and alleged his microphone had been muted by the district in a prior matter. “It means notifying families when their children's rights under IEP and 504 plans were affected,” he said, urging the board to explain and remedy past failures.

Jamie Watts, who identified herself as the grandmother of a Churchill Middle School student with a recent autism diagnosis, described several instances she said school staff failed to follow her granddaughter’s safety plan. She said staff twice refused parental requests to contact the student’s mother or MCOT crisis team, and that the school sent the student home with a letter ordering an evaluation without a direct phone call to the family. Watts said the family has contacted Disability Rights but was told resources are limited and that she is hiring legal counsel to ensure her granddaughter’s rights are protected.

Neither presenter asked the board for immediate policy language changes on the record, but both pressed the trustees for clearer communication and follow-through. The board did not respond during public comment; district staff later discussed processes for incident reporting and ARD invitations during other agenda items.

Next steps: Trustees did not take formal action on the special-education concerns at this meeting; the public-comment portion concluded without a board response. The speakers’ statements were entered into the public record.