Dr. Bynum, the district's special education director, presented results and next steps for UCISD’s special education program at the Dec. 15 meeting.

"We have a total when last I checked, 3,225 students enrolled in UCISD. 612 of them ages 3 through 21 receive special education services," Bynum said, adding that the district's special education overall determination is level 3, driven largely by STAR scores and some EOC performance areas.

Bynum described varied performance across subjects and grades: in grades 3–8 reading the passing rate among tested special-education students was 44.4% (performance level 2); algebra EOC passing rate was 46.3% (PL2); some subject cohorts had very small sample sizes, limiting statistical interpretation. She said the district is developing a TEA Strategic Support Plan, working through an eight-step process that includes root-cause analysis, identifying priority areas and developing a problem statement. "We are currently working on a strategic support plan with TEA," Bynum said.

She emphasized that improving tier‑1 instruction districtwide is the primary lever to improve outcomes for students with disabilities and described collaboration with Region 20 on monitoring and training. Bynum said certain indicators—such as timely initial evaluations and disciplinary removals—are also under review and that the district will submit required reports through the Ascend system.

Trustees asked when the Strategic Support Plan will be available; Bynum said the timeline is months and that she will provide updates as the plan is developed and entered into Ascend.

The board received the report; no board action was taken immediately, but trustees asked for ongoing updates as the district works with TEA and Region 20.