Katy ISD Responds to Allegations Regarding use of Aversives

On Tuesday, the National Autism Association issued a release regarding the use of aversive techniques at one of our schools. A statement addressing these allegations was released by the district late yesterday:

The Katy Independent School District has conducted a full investigation in response to recent reports regarding the use of unapproved techniques to correct student behavior in one of our special needs classrooms last year. The techniques that have been reported to have taken place are not in any way condoned by Katy ISD - nor were they approved by any authorized district staff member.  As such, appropriate personnel actions have been taken and all information related to this occurrence has been turned over to the district attorney.

This isolated occurrence is very unfortunate and we want parents to know that there is no evidence that such techniques have been used in other classrooms or by other personnel.  It saddens and deeply concerns the district that such techniques could have occurred.

It is important for the Katy ISD community to know that, despite documented and frequent visits to this particular classroom, the techniques being used were hidden from district authorities.  Upon receiving a report that unapproved techniques had been used, district officials opened an immediate investigation, which included contacting those parents whose children were directly impacted.  

Additionally, Katy ISD is conducting a review and revision of processes used in the placement and educational programming decisions of our students with disabilities, including identification and implementation of plans to address current needs of students directly impacted by this incident.  Among the corrective action includes training and support for key personnel and increased involvement of supervisory activities by campus and district administrators.  Any documented instances where staff members violate directives will lead to termination of employment. 

In Katy ISD, behavior intervention plans, as well as other components of the child's Individual Education Program (IEP) are developed by a campus-based committee, which includes input from both school staff and the child's parent.   These interventions are specifically designed to provide positive behavioral support to address the needs of the student in the classroom.