For three years, Liam Lara has had a one-on-one nurse to help with his rare congenital condition. Now, his mom says the district won’t let him have one next year.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A Houston-area mom says CyFair ISD is denying what she calls life-saving care for her son.
For the last three years, Liam Lara has had a one-on-one nurse to help with a rare congenital condition. Now, his mom says the district won’t let him have the nurse next school year at Rowe Middle School.
Liam was born with congenital agnathia with aglossia and otocephaly, and he doesn’t have a lower jaw. The boy has required attentive care throughout his life.
“[Doctors] said that his airways collapse, so he needs a trach tube to breathe, and he needs a G tube to eat,” Galvan explained.
Galvan said Liam is an AB Honor Roll student who’s been accepted and band, and he doesn’t let his condition hold him back.
“He is a typical kid,” Galvan told KHOU 11. “He is the loudest non-verbal child you will ever meet, a personality bigger than everybody.”
Galvan said a CFISD staff member recently told her there would no longer be a one-on-one nurse at Rowe Middle School next fall.
“Her words were, ‘If you provide me the letters, I’ll get you the nurse.’ That’s exactly what I did, the next day after the meeting. I was heartbroken.”
Galvan is worried that one nurse handling such a large campus may not reach her son if he needs emergency care.
“Who’s to say she’s not with another student at the time, handling another situation? It’s just a very scary thing,” Galvan said. “He’s 11. How is an 11-year-old expected to save their own life?”
Now, special education advocate Sunnye Garza is helping the family navigate the next steps before school starts in the fall.
Garza said they can seek a hearing under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
“We can present testimony, evidence, witnesses and describe the situation, and the hearing officer will then decide if the district is providing a free and appropriate public education for Liam,” Garza said.
We reached out to CyFair ISD, but they did not respond to our questions.
“Due to federal privacy laws, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), we cannot discuss specific student information or details about any individual child’s educational or medical plan,” a district spokesperson told KHOU.
Galvan plans to meet with the district’s Admission, Review and Dismissal Committee, which creates individual education programs or IEPs, for students with disabilities. At this time it’s unclear when they’ll meet next.
CyFair ISD’s website says the district must have an IEP in effect at the beginning of each school year.