April 2010
Texas Education Agency’s Kathy Clayton believes that listening leads to learning
By Sarah Orman

Kathy Clayton is a good listener. As the state director of special education, Clayton leads by listening to representatives of every stakeholder group in special education — parents, advocates, school districts and students with disabilities.

"If you listen instead of talking, you get better information," she says.

Nineteen years ago when the Texas Education Agency hired Clayton to evaluate preschool programs, she never expected that one day she would direct the agency's Division of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Coordination. Prior to joining TEA, Clayton had worked at multiple school districts in Texas as a classroom teacher, speech therapist and early childhood intervention specialist. In 1991, she moved to Austin and took the job at TEA. Clayton had intended to return to a school district within a few years, but she ended up staying at TEA and eventually moving up to her current post.

Clayton enjoys the viewpoint the position affords her.

"(In my division), we get to see everything from all sides," she says. "While our job (at the state level) is very challenging and things never move as quickly as you want them to, the ability to see subtle change is fascinating."

In a state as large and diverse as Texas, Clayton admits there is no "one size fits all" policy.

"Every district has its own culture," she says.

Consequently, providing guidance that is appropriate in Houston and in Dumas, for instance, is no small task. That is why Clayton relies heavily on listening to people close to the front lines.

"You have to talk to people at ground level," Clayton says.

The Division of IDEA Coordination is primarily responsible for developing and implementing policy and programs to benefit students with disabilities; yet, it also runs the state's complaint process for IDEA-related matters — an area in which Clayton’s listening skills serve her well. At one point, TEA's handling of IDEA complaints received heavy criticism from parents, advocates and school districts.

"When every group involved is unhappy, that really gets your attention," Clayton says.

Through a series of decisions in 2004, Clayton broke down the system and started over from scratch, improving the agency's response to complaints and its self-assessment process. She says she is proud that during her tenure, the data shows that Texas has fewer due process complaints and more mediation. Still, she is careful not to claim sole responsibility for the improvement.

"I say to people who come to work with us: You don’t own every failure or every celebration; you are a part of it and it takes a lot of people," Clayton says.

She estimates that 90 percent of the concerns brought to her department's attention are because of "poor communication" between parents and districts. She sees TEA's primary role as listening to parents to understand their concerns, and then connecting them with the individuals in their respective districts who can best help them.

"We're going on the premise that if we can get those parties talking, maybe next time there's a problem, the parties will talk first and the state won't have to come in,” Clayton says. “One of my greatest interests is trying to ensure that parents and schools are really working together. There is nothing more important that we can do.”

To that end, Clayton serves on the advisory board of the national Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education, or CADRE. She also recently was elected to the board of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education.

"Special education is a service that is there to be complementary to the general education programs we have for all students," she says. "We forget sometimes that a student with a disability is a student first."

Clayton lives in Austin with her husband and two "spoiled rotten" cats. In her spare time, she loves to travel, read books and watch old movies about almost any subject, as long as it is "very removed" from her job. Despite that intention, Clayton is currently reading "Better Together," a book that resonates with the work she values most.

"It's about restoring the American community and working together to get things done; that’s what we are trying to do," she says. "(By default), you talk to the people who are like you, but getting different viewpoints is how to get to a better solution. More good comes from that."

SARAH ORMAN is a freelance writer in Austin. She formerly worked as an attorney in Oakland, Calif.