Austin School District: "Oops, Our Bad, We Totally Forgot About Special Ed"

In a shocking twist, the Austin school district and Disability Rights Texas have finally settled a 2021 lawsuit. You know, the one where the district was accused of being too lazy to provide timely special education services to five students. 🙄

The school board graciously approved the settlement on Thursday, but neither side had the decency to share the details on Friday. Because, you know, transparency is so overrated. 😏

Meanwhile, the district is scrambling to meet a September 2023 order from the Texas Education Agency. Turns out, they've been slacking on evaluating students for special ed services. ** Color me shocked! ** 😮

Both parties were thrilled to announce their agreement, saying they're "pleased to reach this agreement and now await final approval from the court." Because nothing says progress like a court order.

In the March 2021 lawsuit, Disability Rights accused the district of neglecting students with disabilities due to a massive backlog of evaluation requests. Federal law mandates a strict timeline for these evaluations, but Austin's been too busy with... well, who knows what. 🤷‍♂️

The district had hundreds of overdue evaluations, blaming staff turnover and data issues. Because, you know, it's not their fault they can't keep track of their own mess.

Last September, the state mercifully installed a monitor over the district. As if that'll fix their incompetence. The order demanded aggressive timelines for clearing the backlog, updating data systems, staff training, and more.

Amazingly, the district claims they've made progress. They reduced overdue evaluations from 1,780 in January to 306 in December. Wow, what heroes! 🎖️

Stay tuned for more thrilling updates on how the Austin school district continues to fail its most vulnerable students. Because if there's one thing they excel at, it's disappointment. 😒