Parents press Edinburg CISD on special education communication, bus safety, budget priorities

Editor’s Note: The Jan. 27, 2026 meeting of the ECISD School Board covered a large number of topics with many details. We have opted to write multiple stories about the meeting in order to provide as much detail and information as possible to our readers. This is the third and final story on that meeting. You can see the first and second stories here and here

Arnoldo Mata

Edinburg, TX – Two parents delivered pointed and emotional testimony during public comment at Tuesday’s Edinburg CISD board meeting, raising concerns that touched on special education communication, student safety during transportation delays, and the broader financial direction of the school district.

The comments, delivered by Carolina Perez and Alondra Flores, highlighted tensions between district policies and parent expectations, particularly as the district faces rising costs and operational challenges.

Mother challenges limits on communication with special education aide

Carolina Perez told trustees her 8-year-old son, who has autism and speech and language delays, has made significant progress in Edinburg CISD classrooms, but said recent restrictions on parent communication with his one-on-one aide undermine that success.

“My son was nonverbal when he started school,” Perez said. “He would communicate through sounds only.”

Perez said her son began school in a special education unit but flourished after being gradually included in general education classrooms.

“Because of the exposure, soon my son was interacting and learning from other students,” she said. “He started to speak by kindergarten.”

She credited campus leadership, teachers, therapists, and the district for providing a dedicated aide, commonly referred to as a shadow, to help her son stay focused and regulate his emotions.

“Not everyone has the patience or the skills to work with a nonverbal autistic student,” Perez said. “After several shadows, my son started to flourish academically.”

Now in second grade, she said, her son can read and solve math problems, though his expressive language remains limited.

“When I ask him how his day was, he says, ‘Good,’” Perez said. “If I ask what he did, he says, ‘Reading, math.’ He can’t go into detail.”

Perez said that limitation makes communication with staff who directly observe her son outside the classroom essential, particularly his one-on-one aide, who accompanies him to the cafeteria, music class and other non-classroom settings.

“I was told that I cannot have any communication with my son’s one-on-one shadow,” Perez told the board. “That instead I need to communicate only with the teacher.”

Perez said she understands academic communication should go through the teacher of record, but argued that district employees should not be prohibited from sharing information about a child’s emotional or physical well-being. Perez quote a law that prohibited the district from limiting parent communication with non-teacher staff.

“He’s not always with the teacher,” she said. “Sometimes he’s with the shadow. Sometimes he’s with the nurse. Those are the moments I need to understand.”

Perez said she raised concerns during an Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD) meeting and attempted to invite a long-term substitute teacher to provide input on her son’s progress, but the substitute withdrew shortly before the meeting.

“I was trying to get feedback on how my son was doing, his progress and his challenges,” Perez said.

As her allotted five minutes expired, Board President Xavier Salinas interrupted to tell her the time was up.

“I’m sorry, but this has to be told,” Perez said as she concluded. “I need to be allowed to speak to the people who are with my son when he’s not in class.” Perez continued, adding, “I was told if I was not happy to get a lawyer.”

Salinas then directed the superintendent to have staff talk to her to address her concerns. Superintendent Mario Salinas said she could talk to him.

“I tried, but I was denied. I was told that I couldn’t. I was told that I had to go through somebody else,” Perez responded. 

The board president said the district would address the concern, telling the Superintendent, “If you could have one of your staff members talk to her so she could get her concerns out and we could follow up,” he said.

Perez then said she would follow up with the Superintendent. 

Parent urges bus tracking, warns against shifting healthcare costs

Alondra Flores followed with a broader appeal, urging trustees to consider operational changes that would improve transparency and student safety, starting with transportation.

Flores proposed the district invest in a real-time bus tracking app to help parents monitor delays. “This is ideal for students who don’t have a phone or are too little to navigate,” Flores said.

She said recent cold weather underscored the need for better communication. “A lot of our students don’t have jackets or proper warming gear,” Flores said. “Parents wouldn’t have to guess or worry or repeatedly call schools when buses are late.”

Flores said real-time tracking would also help rebuild confidence. “It helps everyone respond faster and more responsibly,” she said. “And more importantly, it restores trust.”

Flores then turned to the district’s financial outlook, referencing the extensive discussion earlier in the meeting about rising employee health insurance costs. “Our teachers and staff are already on fixed incomes,” Flores said. “The cost of living is rising daily at an alarming rate.”

She urged trustees to protect healthcare benefits, even as they search for savings. Flores said any financial adjustments should reflect shared responsibility.

She concluded her remarks by adding, “If we’re considering asking teachers to make sacrifices, then, I think the board should consider all the duplicate positions it has across the district, with extremely high pay, and consider projects that can potentially take the back seat while we stabilize the financial situation. But, if we’re going to cut costs, let it not be where health is a question,” she said. “Like you said, board president, no one asked to be sick. I say this only so your constituents can see that the sacrifice is coming from all areas,” she said, “not just theirs.”

The Board is prohibited from responding to public comments or taking any action on those topics unless they are already on the agenda.