Nearly 1 out of 10 students at some of the area's wealthiest high schools have a disability designation that can give them more time to take tests, including college-entrance exams.
The rates are vastly greater than at high-poverty schools in North Texas, where fewer than 3 percent of students have such classifications, raising questions about what the disparity could mean in the high-stakes world of college admissions.
Wealthy families swept up in the "Varsity Blues" college-admissions scandal in March were alleged to have spent thousands of dollars on schemes to get their children into elite universities. That included faking disabilities so their children could get accommodations — such as extra time or even testing in a private room — on college-entrance tests. In some cases, it was alleged that a conspirator in the scheme took the tests instead of the students.
The Dallas Morning News found similar disparities locally when analyzing 2015-16 high school enrollment data, the most recent available from the U.S. Department of Education. Dallas, Tarrant and Collin county campuses with few or no children from low-income families had among the highest rates of students who were on such disability plans.
Highland Park High School, for example, had no students living in poverty and had 12.8 percent of its students qualifying for the disability designation. But at W.W. Samuell High School in Dallas, where about 98.5 percent of students were from low-income families, only 1.6 percent of students had that designation.
It's routine for families to seek a designation that allows children with learning disabilities to have special accommodations when needed.
Advocates say the disparities don't necessarily illustrate gaming the system but more likely point to inequities in access to a proper diagnosis; the difficulties in navigating complex systems; and complicated histories around such designations.
"There's not a high percentage of cases to the degree that there's this new focus on this small group of ultra-wealthy crooks who misused disability services to gain unfair advantage," said Dustin Rynders, supervising attorney for Disability Rights Texas. "That's certainly not most people who are getting accommodated in schools. ... But families are not treated equally when they show up at the schoolhouse door."
At issue are what are known as 504 plans, named after Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which ensures rights for students with a physical or mental impairment.
Students served under such plans could have short-term disabilities — such as a broken arm — that could require temporary accommodations, or long-term needs related to dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, diabetes or other issues.
The Times and The News reviewed federal data for students who received only 504 support and not those receiving services under a separate federal law that guides special education, which tends to serve children with more severe physical and mental disabilities.
Of the five North Texas high schools with the lowest rates of children living in low-income families, four had rates of children on 504 plans that not only surpassed the poorest campuses but also their districts' overall rates.
Nearly 12% of Lovejoy High's students were on 504 plans compared to 8.9% of the district as a whole. In Southlake, both Carroll High and Carroll Senior High were at about 9 percent compared to just under 8 percent for the district.
Meanwhile, in the area's five poorest high schools — all in Dallas ISD — no more than 2.6% of students qualified for 504 plan disability accommodations. All were well below the district's average of 3.2%.
"Privilege is real," said Rynders, who noted that his group repeatedly hears stories that show families from white, middle- and upper-class backgrounds are more likely to have disability concerns taken seriously.
Typically, a parent or teacher is the first to suggest a child be evaluated for dyslexia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or another impairment because they are more likely to notice when a student is struggling.
They can request an evaluation by district personnel, but Texas schools are facing shortages of trained diagnosticians who can do such work. So some families turn to medical or psychological professionals for help, shelling out thousands of dollars on evaluations as it can be difficult to get some learning disabilities or impairments covered through insurance.
Ultimately, school officials have to sign off on whether a student receives any kind of accommodation, such as extra time on tests or using alternative methods like taking an assessment digitally rather than manually.
Those decisions are made by a 504 committee, usually consisting of a student's teacher, special education staff and others who know the child. And accommodations received early on can determine what kind of help students ultimately receive on college-entrance exams or even when applying for graduate school. More time on tests often translates to higher scores.
Some districts have aggressive campaigns to inform parents about services for children. Highland Park, for example, has a video on its website explaining 504 qualifications and procedures.
HPISD spokesman Jon Dahlander said in a written statement that the district's process for providing services meets federal law and is aligned with other districts' practices.
"Any parent, guardian or teacher may request special services for a student through a 504 plan if a qualified medical professional provides a diagnosis and appropriate documentation," Dahlander said in the statement. "School staff, through a 504 committee that may include parents, then reviews that documentation on an individual student basis to determine if a child is indeed eligible for a 504 accommodation."
Officials at the Lovejoy, Frisco and Carroll school districts echoed those sentiments, saying they look at the specific needs of the child and are constantly reevaluating.
Tyisha Nelson, executive director of special programs for Carroll ISD, noted that her district incorporates information about disability services during parent brown bag lunches, booster meetings and other events. She added that students' 504 plans are revisited each year to make sure they are getting what they need.
"You're not comparing apples to apples," she said. "There's more to those numbers. They're kids that are attached to that number, and we want to make sure learning is accessible to them all."
Unlike special education designations that typically follow students year to year, 504 paperwork can often get lost when a student transitions to a new school, which is a particular problem for students who move frequently because of housing instability, Rynders said. And working families aren't always aware of what their children's rights are, he added.
That's why Dallas ISD officials say they're trying to do more to make the entire process more accessible for families.
That includes stepped-up outreach at back-to-school fairs and community events where they inform parents what district or community services could be available even if insurance is an issue. They also make sure all new teachers know what to do if they suspect a student needs accommodations.
Meanwhile, DISD uses a centralized software system for tracking 504 plans so that related documentation follows students as they move to other campuses. And the district has hired 11 more staffers to help with evaluations.
"We try to go at it at every angle," said Michelle Brown, Dallas ISD's director of section 504 and dyslexia services.
Race is another factor affecting 504 plan designations because blacks and Latinos have historically had complicated relationships with special education, advocates say.
For decades, many minority children were funneled into special-education classes even if they had no disabilities, and schools were not held accountable for how those students performed. Studies suggest African American children are still over-diagnosed for issues like emotional disturbance but under-diagnosed for autism as educators often unconsciously interpret the same behavior differently based on the race of a child.
Rynders said such experiences in a community can influence the perception of disability services. For example, it could mean some black educators or parents are less likely to seek referrals for a child.
Educators say they are constantly working to break down any stigmas.
"This is not a label but something that will help their students achieve academically," Brown said.
