HOUSTON – Parents who were fighting to keep their students from being removed from the Preparing Students for Independence program at T.H. Rogers have gotten their wish. The program will remain intact, preventing the special needs students’ normal routines from being disrupted.
HISD Superintendent Millard House II released the following statement on Thursday:
“I am happy to share that HISD will not be moving forward with the transition of students in the PSI program at T.H. Rogers following a pause on the decision prior to the holiday break. HISD is committed to meeting TEA requirements for the least restrictive environment to keep the program intact at T.H. Rogers and better engaging our parents and families in decisions impacting our students, now and into the future. The feedback, advocacy, and involvement of our community was critical in arriving to this outcome.”
[Below is video of previously covered story]
Concerned parents of students in the program passionately spoke out at the Houston Independent School District’s monthly board meeting in December, expressing frustrations over the possibility of the district sending the students to schools within their neighborhoods. Many of those schools, parents complained, would not be trained or equipped to handle the students, many of whom have severe multiple impairments.
Dozens of parents addressed the school board and HISD superintendent.
Gretchen Frauenberger is a parent of a student within the program.
“Very upset, distraught, stressed out. It is devastating for our family, all the families,” she told KPRC 2 back then.
Julie Beeson is also a parent of a child within the program.
Ruthie Green was another parent who took to the podium. Her 20-year-old son Joshua has been attending TH Rogers’ PSI program for 17 years.
“He has seizures on a regular basis, where he stops breathing. I know that when I drop him off at school and when he has a seizure, there’s an RN there ready to administer the RX that will help him. That’s what it means to me. Safety and community.”
Close to 40 families were notified that the PSI program at TH Rogers would be no more and students would have to be transferred to their home campus.
Kelly Millner explained, “the school district wants us to accept this LRE, least restrictive environment, Mckleron will not survive in LRE in a regular middle school. Can you imagine children like this being forced into a regular high school?”
Superintendent House acknowledged parents at the meeting.
“I heard the passion in their voice, the pain in their voice. We want to make sure this is right, so we are taking a complete pause and we are going to be engaging with the community at our PSI program and ensure anything that happens moving forward that you all are engaged in the process.”
House sent a letter sent to parents, saying a decision would be made in Jan. 2023.
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