AUSTIN (KXAN) – Court records filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the Austin Independent School District show that the district is behind in assessing more than 800 students who may need special Education services.

The Texas Education Agency has confirmed that it is investigating the AISD Special Education Department. Austin ISD is offering an interview with Superintendent Matthias Segura on Thursday afternoon to discuss the matter.

A lawsuit filed by the Texas federal disability advocacy and advocacy Agency in 2021 alleged that about 800 students were anticipating a delayed initial assessment and another 1,600 were anticipating a three-year delayed assessment.

Disability Rights wrote a letter to Education Commissioner Mike Morath on Thursday saying the school district admitted in recent court filings that it had 875 overdue initial grades in December this year and nearly 1,000 overdue re-evaluations for students in November.

The agency asked the Texas Education Agency to conduct a special investigation into AISD and appoint a conservative or management team in the district’s special education department.

“Austin ISD has had years to address this issue and the intervention of the TEA as the public education agency responsible for enforcing the IDEA is clearly necessary in order for students with disabilities to receive [free appropriate public education.]’, Kim Davis Rogers, senior disability rights attorney in Texas, wrote in her letter to Morath.

This is not the first time that the Texas Office of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has called for an investigation into AISD’s backlog of special education evaluations. In 2021, the agency sent a similar letter to the agency asking for a special investigation.

It is not clear if TEA complied with the request. KXAN has reached out to the agency but has yet to receive a response.