91͵ÅÄ

Menu

Join 91͵ÅÄ as a special education teacher! We're offering a $5,000 stipend for the 2024-25 school year. This is a great opportunity to join a supportive SPED community, where you'll have the resources and encouragement to positively impact the lives of our students. Applicants, please send your resumes to Adrienne Broyles ([email protected]) and Brynne Riley ([email protected]). Visit mckinneyisd.net/sped/ for more information.

Section Menu

Special Populations


Special Populations

The 91͵ÅÄ Special Populations Department believes that all individuals are born with inherent value and that all individuals need to feel safe and secure in their learning environment. Further, we believe that all individuals deserve an environment that is conducive to mental, physical and spiritual growth. We also believe that education is a shared responsibility and that personal relationships, especially with parents and adult students are vital to learning.

Department Responsibilities

The Special Populations Department seeks to develop educational programs for students with disabilities which are relevant and adaptable to the student’s needs. This department is also responsible for supervising and coordinating activities for the Office of Special Populations including Special Education Services, 504, and Dyslexia.

For general questions about any of our services, including 504 and Dyslexia, please email us at [email protected].

Information Meeting

The 91͵ÅÄ Special Populations Department will hold an information meeting for potential Educational Diagnostician Practicum candidates and/or Licensed Specialist in School Psychology Internship candidates. This meeting is designed to review recruitment guidelines, role expectations, confidentiality, and 91͵ÅÄ LSSP/Educational Diagnostician job descriptions.

These meetings will be held via Teams on October 26, 2023 at 3:30 pm and March 21, 2024 at 3:30 pm. Questions can be directed to Megan Fulwiler ([email protected]).

What is Special Education

When a child receives special education, it means that a public school provides custom services and instruction specific to the needs of that student. Special education is available because of a federal law called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which provides students with disabilities and their parents special legal rights to receive these individualized learning opportunities.

SPEDTex: Special Education Information Center

SPEDTex provides information and resources that can help you understand your child’s disability, your rights, and responsibilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and facilitate collaboration that supports the development and delivery of services to children with disabilities in our state.

Surrogate and Foster Parents

Surrogate Parent

In cases where the child has no parent(s), none can be located, or the child is a ward of the state, a surrogate parent must be appointed to make educational decisions on behalf of the child and to protect the child’s rights in matters relating to identification, evaluation, and placement in special education. For educational purposes, a surrogate parent is a person who is legally entitled to take the place of a parent under certain conditions. This may occur when:

  • a parent cannot be identified
  • parent cannot be located after reasonable efforts by the school district
  • the child is a ward of the State
  • the child is an unaccompanied homeless youth

An individual who has no personal or professional interest that conflicts with the interest of the child he or she represents, and who has knowledge and skills that ensure adequate representation of the child can be a surrogate parent. The school district shall give preferential consideration to a foster parent of a child with a disability when assigning Surrogate Parent for the child. Contact Megan Fulwiler ([email protected]) if a Surrogate Parent is needed to make educational decisions on behalf of a child.

Foster Parent

Foster parents for a child with a disability may serve as the parent if they agree to participate in making special education decisions and if they complete the required training program before the child’s next ARD committee meeting, but not later than the 90th day after they begin acting as the parent for the purpose of making special education decisions for the child. Once an approved training program has been completed, the foster parent does not have to retake a training program to act as a parent for the same child or to serve as a parent or as a surrogate parent for another child. Contact your campus Special Populations Coordinator regarding the training program for Foster Parents.

Surrogate and Foster parent online training modules:

Need Help?

If you need additional assistance with the content on this page, please contact 91͵ÅÄ team member Sherri Winters by phone at 469-302-6304 or by email here .