AUSTIN – The Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced today that it will host two public hearings to accept comments on its comprehensive draft strategic plan for special education.

• The first public hearing will take place on Thursday, April 12, at Education Service Center Region 1, 1900 West Schunior, in Edinburg.
• The second public hearing will take place on Monday, April 16, at Education Service Center Region 10, 400 East Spring Valley Road, in Richardson.

Participants will register onsite for each hearing beginning at 12:30 p.m. Speaker registration will end at 1 p.m. Both public hearings are set to begin at 1 p.m.

Speakers will be called in the order in which they registered. To accommodate as many people as possible, each registered speaker will be allotted three minutes. The public hearing will continue until all registered speakers have spoken or through 3 p.m. (whichever comes first). The hearings will be recorded and transcriptions posted publicly.

TEA’s draft strategic plan, regarding the support and delivery of special education services in our state’s public schools, reflects steps the agency is considering undertaking – beyond what is being required by the U.S. Department of Education, as outlined in a recent federal monitoring report.

Those unable to attend either public hearing can still submit electronic comments on the comprehensive draft strategic plan for special education. Comments can be submitted by email at TexasSPED@TEA.texas.gov. Electronic comments will be accepted through noon on Wednesday, April 18.

A final response to the federal monitoring report will be sent to the U.S. Department of Education later this month. To review the draft strategic plan or to learn more about the public hearings visit the TEA website at https://tea.texas.gov/TexasSPED.