A small Texas school district is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for a possible Section 504 violation for planning to discontinue a special education elementary life skills classroom beginning in the 2026-27 school year.
The move would require students in that program at New Home Independent School District to be bused about 30 miles to another classroom, according to a Wednesday statement by the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights.
OCR will also determine if the two-school district violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating on the basis of disability. The Education Department's statement said its investigation is based on reports that the district failed to reevaluate students or provide notice prior to placing students in a classroom approximately 30 miles away.
“Every child with a disability is entitled to special education and related aids and services that are specifically designed to meet their individual needs, and no parent should be left wondering how or whether a school will deliver on that promise,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey in the statement.
“The allegations described here — cutting an essential special education program and busing young children with disabilities miles from home without any individualized determination, disrupting learning, and denying students equal access to educational programs — are serious and concerning," Richey said.
The statement said "parents of young children who need tailored education plans have said it took their kids a long time to adjust to their current learning environment and expressed serious concern that this change would set them back."
New Home ISD did not respond to a request for comment by deadline, but in a Feb. 18 statement provided to KCBD News Channel, Superintendent Julia Stephen said the district is one of six member districts in a Four County Shared Services Arrangement that provides special education and related services.
In July 2025, the Four County Shared Services Arrangement board voted to discontinue paying the salaries for the life skills employees who were only serving New Home ISD. That's because the New Home ISD life skills classroom was a "duplication of services" otherwise offered by the cooperative, Stephen wrote.
"That decision shifted the financial responsibility of the District life skills classroom solely to New Home ISD."
Stephen said that on Feb. 9, the New Home ISD Board of Trustees voted to return to the former practice of having the district’s life skills students participate in classes with another district that is a member of the Four County Shared Services Arrangement.
"The District will continue to meet the individualized needs of each student in this new location," Stephen said. "Personal phone calls have been made to each New Home ISD family impacted, and we are working to schedule individual meetings with each family. New Home ISD looks forward to partnering with the parents of impacted students to ensure a successful transition in the upcoming school year.”
