This week, the federal government ordered Texas to halt a program that slowed special education enrollment. Cutting enrollment has reportedly saved the state billions of dollars. Our Stef Manisero shows us — perhaps most upsetting to many — is how the Texas Education Agency kept it a secret for more than a decade as special education enrollment in the Lone Star State fell to the lowest rate in the country.

Reading his own handwriting is a struggle for 11-year-old Jaivyn Mauldin. He's one of the every six children nationwide who battles learning disabilities.

“I'm having a really hard time trying to write because — it just — I can't think while I'm writing,” Jaivyn said.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dysgraphia and dyspraxia — Jaivyn can't sit still, can't write coherently and has trouble with coordination.

“So much so that by the end of third grade, he had developed chronic stomach aches and anxiety from the stress,” said his mother, Lisa Mauldin.

Now, a Houston Chronicle investigation reveals Jaivyn is one of possibly 225,000 students in Texas being denied special education enrollment — news shocking to parents.

“No, no, not at all, had not heard anything about it, wasn’t aware,” Lisa said.

In 2004, the Texas Education Agency quietly created a system that cut special education enrollment.

“This is how it works: If you have a district who enrolls 8.5 percent or more of its student body in special education, then they receive a less than perfect score on this indicator,” said Rachel Gandy with Disability Rights Texas.

At the time, the national special education enrollment was around 13 percent.

Texas was close at 12 percent.

“But starting in 2004 we’ve seen this dramatic decline to exactly 8.5 percent, and we don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Gandy said.

Though they weren't required to by law, many Texas schools complied. Eleven years later, Texas hit its target.

“Even though the school population has increased rather steadily, the special education population has decreased, and that trend just doesn’t follow logic in any way,” said Gandy.

The TEA denies raising the threshold to drop enrollment.

In a statement, Commissioner Mike Morath says:

“The Texas Education Agency and school systems throughout Texas are staffed by a multitude of professionals who are motivated by the passion to serve kids, especially those most vulnerable.  Even beyond these basic motives, Texas school districts are obligated by law and agency policy to identify and provide services to all students with disabilities who require special education services.

All Texas students who are entitled to special education services at school should have access to the services they need.  However, research shows it is not in the best interest of students who do not need special education support to be erroneously admitted into special education programs.  As a result, the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) includes language to ensure states take steps to prevent over-identification and disproportionate special education representation.

Consistent with this law, in 2004 the Texas Education Agency adopted a performance monitoring system to help draw attention to the risks associated with over-identification and disproportionate representation while still ensuring all students eligible for special education services receive those services.

The Texas Education Agency is committed to conducting a detailed review of this monitoring system and how it impacts Texas students.  The agency will continue to convene special education advisory groups for feedback and guidance on all aspects of special education policy, as it has for years as part of its annual public rulemaking processes.  Also, any member of the public can review a wealth of information related to these issues on the TEA website, including:

We are committed to ensuring that we support Texas students, schools, and districts and help improve outcomes for all students in Texas. The agency will continue to provide more detailed information relating to issues of special education placement.”  

In other words, trying to make sure students of color weren't over-represented within the special education system, which in the past, has been a problem.

But policy experts with Disability Rights Texas say if that's the case, it hasn't worked.

“But what we’ve found from looking at the actual data, is that this cap has made disproportionality worse,” said Gandy.

Lisa says the TEA's system is more than just unfair.

"It’s criminal. To us it’s a form of child abuse. It’s educational child abuse."

Texas must report back to the Department of Education within 30 days. It will only be allowed to keep that 8.5 percent benchmark if it can prove that no child with disabilities was denied special education services. But the state is literally littered with cases that would sound all too familiar to Jaivyn and the rest of the Mauldin family.

We'll of course continue to follow this story.

Click here to view the full, 26-page Houston Chronicle story.