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The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness

by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES

August 27, 2021

Honorable Mike Morath

Commissioner

Texas Education Agency

1701 N. Congress Ave.

Austin, Texas 78701

Dear Commissioner Morath:

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) supports the safe return to in-person 

instruction for all students, including students with disabilities. Though not covered by our 

review and analysis of the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) longstanding noncompliance with 

the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that has been the focus of our work with 

the Texas Education Agency (TEA) since 2016, we are also concerned about the recently issued 

State of Texas Executive Order (EO) GA 38 in July 2021. This Texas EO restricts the ability of 

local educational agencies to implement policies aligned with the current Centers for Disease 

Control guidance regarding mask requirements in schools.1 The State of Texas EO, as written, 

may also impact the provision of a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive

environment for students with disabilities and foster an unsafe learning environment. 

Consistent with the direction outlined in the President’s Memorandum on Ensuring a Safe Return 

to In-Person School for the Nation’s Children, OSEP will, in coordination with other offices 

within the Department, follow up with the TEA on this matter.

In addition to the concerns mentioned above related to the Texas EO and its impact on the safe 

return to in-person instruction in Texas, this letter summarizes OSEP’s review and analysis of 

the TEA document submissions to OSEP on October 5, 2020, regarding TEA’s status of 

longstanding noncompliance with IDEA. The document submissions were based, in part, on 

OSEP’s May 2019 on-site monitoring visit to TEA. OSEP conducted the May 2019 on-site 

monitoring visit in order to assess TEA’s progress in implementing its Corrective Action 

Response (CAR), submitted to OSEP on April 23, 2018, and the findings and required actions set 

forth in OSEP's January 11, 2018 monitoring report (hereafter, 2018 monitoring report).

2

In our

2018 monitoring report, OSEP included the results of its February 2017 on-site monitoring visit, 

1 That guidance is available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/k-12-

guidance.html

2 A copy of OSEP’s 2018 monitoring report is available at

https://www2.ed.gov/fund/data/report/idea/dmsrpts/index.html
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and notified TEA of its continued failure to comply with the requirements under the Individuals 

with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Specifically, OSEP found that TEA failed to:

• Ensure that all children with disabilities residing in the State who are in need of special 

education and related services were identified, located, and evaluated, regardless of the 

severity of their disability, as required by IDEA section 612(a)(3) and its implementing 

regulation at 34 C.F.R. § 300.111.

• Ensure that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) was made available to all 

children with disabilities residing in the State in Texas's mandated age ranges (ages 3 

through 21), as required by IDEA section 612(a)(1) and its implementing regulation at 

34 C.F.R. § 300.101.

• Fulfill its general supervisory and monitoring responsibilities as required by IDEA 

sections 612(a)(11) and 616(a)(1)(C), and their implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. 

§§ 300.149 and 300.600, along with 20 U.S.C. 1232d(b)(3)(A), to ensure that local 

educational agencies (LEAs),

3

throughout the State properly implement the IDEA child 

find, individual evaluation, and FAPE requirements.

TEA’s CAR, outlined the steps TEA proposed to take to address each of the areas of 

noncompliance that OSEP had identified in the 2018 monitoring report. OSEP responded to 

TEA’s CAR by letter dated October 19, 2018. In that letter, OSEP required TEA to take certain

additional actions to address the findings of noncompliance identified in OSEP’s 2018 

monitoring report by the dates specified by TEA and informed TEA that OSEP would be

conducting a follow-up visit in 2019 to monitor TEA’s implementation of the CAR. In a letter

dated January 9, 2019, TEA responded to OSEP’s October 19, 2018 letter and provided

additional information about its implementation of the CAR. 

During the week of May 6, 2019, OSEP conducted an on-site visit to monitor TEA’s

implementation of its CAR. As part of OSEP’s Review of TEA’s CAR implementation efforts, 

OSEP met with TEA staff and other education officials, including representatives from the 

State’s Education Service Centers (ESCs) that support TEA’s delivery of technical assistance to 

LEAs. OSEP also visited 12 schools within six LEAs and met with two groups of educators at

each school, including general education teachers, special education teachers, andrelated service 

providers. OSEP also interviewed administrators at each school, as well as administrators at each 

LEA’s district office. TEA and ESC staff accompanied OSEP on these visits as observers to

provide TEA and ESC an opportunity to identify LEA training needs and to enable them to 

follow up in a timely manner if noncompliant practices were discovered during the visits.

By letter dated October 5, 2020, TEA informed OSEP that it believed that TEA completed all the 

required corrective actions in its CAR. On October 19, 2020, OSEP issued a new monitoring

report (hereafter, 2020 monitoring report4) based on the results of its May 2019 on-site 

monitoring of TEA’s implementation of its CAR. In addition to the May 2019 on-site visit, the 2020 

monitoring report addressed communications between OSEP and TEA and additional input that

3 Generally, independent school districts in Texas are considered local educational agencies under IDEA. See 34 

C.F.R. § 300.28. This letter used the term LEA instead of ISD.

4 A copy of OSEP’s 2020 monitoring report is available at 

https://www2.ed.gov/fund/data/report/idea/partbdmsrpts/tx-b-2020-dmsletter.pdf
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OSEP had received from stakeholders. The 2020 monitoring report concluded that TEA had only 

implemented one of the items included in its April 23, 2018 CAR and that TEA also had failed to 

implement the additional required actions specified in OSEP’s October 19, 2018 response to the 

CAR. As a result, following the release of our 2020 monitoring report, TEA submitted numerous 

documents which TEA believed would demonstrate that it had fully corrected the previous 

findings of noncompliance.

5

OSEP’s analysis of TEA’s most recent document submissions is contained in the enclosed 

chart. The chart identifies: (a) the specific CAR item; (b) the documents that TEA submitted in 

response to OSEP’s required actions contained in the 2020 monitoring report; (c) OSEP’s 

analysis of TEA’s document submissions; and, (d) the required actions/next steps that TEA 

must take to address the noncompliance. 

As explained in the enclosed chart, despite TEA’s submissions, OSEP has determined that TEA 

still has not satisfied: (1) the majority of the items TEA identified in its April 23, 2018 CAR to 

address the findings of noncompliance contained in OSEP’s 2018 monitoring report; (2) the 

required actions identified in OSEP’s letter dated October 19, 2018; and (3) the required actions 

identified in OSEP’s 2020 monitoring report. Therefore, OSEP requests that TEA take additional 

actions and provide the required documentation that are identified in the enclosed chart as soon 

as possible, but no later than 30 days from the date of this letter. Please note that the required 

actions and documentation include items that represent longstanding noncompliance. TEA’s 

failure to take all the required actions necessary to address the longstanding noncompliance 

identified in OSEP’s January 11, 2018 monitoring report could result in the imposition of 

specific conditions on TEA’s IDEA Part B grant funds and could affect TEA’s determination 

under section 616(d) of IDEA. 

My office will follow-up in the next week to schedule a call to further discuss this letter. If you 

have any questions, please contact Ms. Jennifer Finch, your OSEP State Lead, at 202-245-6610

or Jennifer.finch@ed.gov. 

Sincerely,

David Cantrell, Ph.D.

Acting Director

Office of Special Education Programs

5 Specifically, TEA submitted documents to OSEP on October 22, 2020; October 27, 2020; November 1, 2020; 

November 19, 2020; December 3, 2020; and December 12, 2020. TEA also participated in telephone calls with 

OSEP on October 21, 2020; November 16, 2020; and November 19, 2020.