Truce in Mexia school battle

District, state feuded over care of kids with mental disabilities.
By Corrie MacLagganAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Texas lawmakers seem to have found a resolution to a fight between a school district and state officials over the education of youths with mental disabilities.
The dispute centered on who was responsible for supervising dozens of residents of a state institution in Mexia who attend classes through the local school district. Mexia is about 40 miles east of Waco.
The superintendent of the Mexia Independent School District says that the students — many of whom live at the institution because they have been accused of crimes but were deemed not competent to stand trial — can be violent and pose a danger to teachers and students.
Superintendent Jason Ceyanes told lawmakers that the institution should provide staff to supervise the students, something the state did until this past school year. State officials countered that he was trying to avoid teaching the students and said that a written agreement between the school district and the state didn't require such supervision.
A provision in a new state law makes it clear that it's the school district's responsibility to supervise the students. And the Legislature provided money — $5,100 per student per year — for the district to hire behavior specialists to work with the alleged offenders.
The provision is part of a law that improves security and oversight of the 13 institutions previously known as state schools that are now called state supported living centers.
The legislation, signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry last week, came in response to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice that reported that the facilities failed to provide adequate care.
The provision satisfied the school district enough for it to drop its lawsuit against state officials.
"We're pleased," Ceyanes said. "Not only did this legislation provide us with the clarification we were seeking, but it also included funding to help us ... keep everyone safe."
Ceyanes said that the specialists will work with students to identify behavior issues and create a plan for addressing them.
"This is not just a person sitting in a room telling kids to be quiet if they start talking out of turn," Ceyanes said. "If you see a kid jump up and get upset, there are strategies to de-escalate that behavior before they actually hit someone."
Laura Albrecht, a spokeswoman for the Department of Aging and Disability Services, said that adding behavior specialists "will certainly be a plus for the students."
State Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, inserted the provision into the bill after sitting down with state and district officials.
"I'm confident this can work," Cook said. "I think there is a new spirit of cooperation."
The Mexia school district educates 88 residents of the Mexia State Supported Living Center, including 69 alleged offenders, Albrecht said. Both groups attend classes taught by Mexia district teachers, some on the living center's campus and others on a district campus.
The number of alleged offenders at the Mexia living center is likely to grow because under the new law, the center will be the home of certain alleged offenders from across the state.
cmaclaggan@statesman.com; 445-3548