Special Education Director
(956)943-0663
Welcome to the Department of Special Education!
Mission and Goals:
Our Mission
The mission of the Point Isabel Independent School District Special Education Program is to work collaboratively with all educational stakeholders in order to meet the needs of all students with disabilities, provide them with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), and ensure that all students with disabilities are prepared to transition from the public-school setting into the community as skilled life-long learners and integrated citizens.
Special Education Goals
To ensure equitable, well-planned, and consistently implemented academic supports in the least restrictive environment.
To work collaboratively with all stakeholders, including students, families, and outside agencies to transition students to appropriate post-secondary opportunities.
To identify students with special needs through an evaluation process that is sensitive to the student’s cultural and linguistic needs in compliance with state and federal guidelines.
To provide support and services needs in order to ensure equitable access to general education curriculum in the least restricted environment to the maximum extent possible
To provide students with the skills needed to be independent both academically and socially in order to become productive and responsible citizen.
Parent Resources:
SPEDTEX:
The Special Education Information Center (SPEDTex) provides resources and interactive features for increasing family awareness of disabilities and special education processes, with the goal of improving partnerships between schools and families.
SPEDTEXPhone: 1-855-773-3839
Live Chat: www.spedtex.org
Staff Resources:
School Administration Software for K-12 | Frontline Education
Texas Statewide Leadership for Autism Training (TSLAT) increases LEAs’ knowledge, understanding, and implementation of evidence-based practices that ensure the academic, functional, and behavioral needs of students with autism are met. TSLAT provides access to training, technical assistance, support, and resources for educators who serve students with autism. The TSLAT website includes online courses (some in Spanish), webinars, information about opportunities for deeper learning, a video library, and more.
The Inclusion in Texas Network is working to promote a statewide culture of high expectations for students with disabilities and significantly improve academic and functional outcomes for students served by special education. The network assists LEAs build capacity to develop and appropriately implement instructional programs that provide meaningful access to inclusive environments and grade-level standards, where appropriate.
The Tiered Interventions using Evidence-based Research (TIER) network is developing comprehensive and coherent trainings and resources for evidence-based intervention practices across the state. The network strives to increase LEA and ESC capacity to develop and implement an effective, integrated, comprehensive framework for intervention that is grounded in differentiated instruction and aligns the systems that are fundamental for all students’ academic, behavioral, and social achievement.
The Texas CAN Network provides statewide leadership and support to increase the capacity of LEAs and families to meet the needs of students with significant cognitive disabilities. The network provides resources and supports that provide for the complex and intensive educational and functional needs of students with significant cognitive disabilities
The Texas Sensory Support Network (TxSSN) ensures the provision of support to infants, toddlers, children, and youth with sensory impairments, their families, and the professionals who serve them. This network provides information and strategies for development of communication, mobility, tactile skills, and environmental adaptations. Additionally, TxSSN addresses diagnosis, evaluation, and educational programs for services to students in their home communities in support of the comprehensive statewide education plan for this student population.
This network strives to build capacity of small and rural LEAs to provide a more equitable level of access for students with disabilities in these communities. The network will develop state-level infrastructures, resources, and professional development to support LEAs who face unique challenges, such as resource limitations and geographic remoteness.
A student with multiple exceptionalities and multiple needs is a student served by special education and identified in one or more of the following special populations: gifted and talented (GT), English learner (EL), or highly mobile family situation, including military, migrant, foster, or homeless. The multifaceted needs of these students require planned and purposeful coordination. Through the creation of partnerships and a foundation in evidenced-based practices, this network builds capacity for educator support through training and resources specific to identification and programming for students with multiple exceptionalities and multiple needs.