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Leander ISD officials report surge in students served by special education, flag staffing and funding challenges
Summary
District leaders told the school board that Leander ISD now serves roughly 6,811 students in special education—up from 3,832 a decade ago—and outlined evaluation backlogs, strong post-exit outcomes, CTE expansion and persistent shortages of school psychologists that could limit district capacity.
Leander ISD leaders told the board that the district now serves an estimated 6,811 students receiving special education services, a rise from about 3,832 a decade earlier, and urged continued investment in staff and evaluation capacity.
"We currently serve approximately 6,811 students and compared to 3,832 just a decade ago," Amy said as she reviewed evaluation and program trends. District staff said they expect roughly 1,600 initial evaluations to be completed this year, including 73 referrals connected to the Texas Education Freedom Account.
Administrators highlighted academic outcomes they consider strengths: among students who exited services and were assessed in grades three through eight, district reporting showed math performance near 85% and reading/language arts at about 93% meeting approaches grade level or higher. Secondary end-of-course participation has increased, with biology and U.S. history showing improvements, though Algebra I remained an area of concern.
Paige and other presenters described steps to broaden opportunities, including a partnership with the National Alliance Partner Equity (NAPE) and expanded access to career and technical education (CTE) courses in grades 7–12. "We're working closely with our counselors, our coordinators, and team leads to look at course alignment, specifically to increase access to CTE courses in middle school," staff said.
Board members pressed for detail on how the district is staffing to meet the rising demand. Several trustees asked about school psychologist caseloads and the district’s efforts to recruit and retain personnel in shortage areas. Administration said it is pursuing intern pipelines and alternative certification pathways and can provide more detailed case studies tracing student trajectories and service timelines.
Family engagement, survey work and a new Frontier clinic were also described as components of the district’s approach to supporting students and families. Administrators asked the board to note state funding changes—citing House Bill 2 and House Bill 6—and warned that evolving accountability and funding models will affect capacity and budgeting decisions.
What’s next: district staff said they will return with further disaggregated data and follow-up case studies to help the board understand where to target interventions, and to show how existing and proposed staffing changes affect evaluation timelines and student outcomes.
