TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County Schools recently updated its Private Instruction Personnel Policy, or PIP,  thanks to a Tampa mom who has advocated for the change for more than a year. 

The change will allow therapists, such as applied behavior analysis, or ABA, in all classrooms district wide.

What You Need To Know

  • Hillsborough County Schools revised its PIP Policy to include that, "services provided by a PIP may be provided during the student’s instructional time"

  • Tamara Perez, who started the Project ABA Rights Facebook group, hopes to take these changes to the state level

  • More Education headlines

Tamara Perez first started meeting with Hillsborough County School officials advocating for changes to the district’s PIP policy in 2023.

“We’ve been working at the local level with the Hillsborough County School Board and Hillsborough County district staff members to change local policy and procedures," she said. "And also trying to meet with state representatives and senators and working to get the verbiage changed at the state level."

While Perez is still working to make changes at the state level, she recently celebrated a big win for students in Hillsborough County.

“It now says, services provided by a PIP may be provided during the student’s instructional time,” she read off the new policy.

That means private personnel, like ABA therapists, will be allowed in all classrooms in Hillsborough County. Prior to the change, it was left up to the principals’ discretion and interpretation. 

Her son Grayson, who is in fourth grade, was diagnosed with autism when he was 3, and she says having ABA therapy in school has made all the difference for him. He was even named “Student of the Month” at his school in November.

“His confidence, he is a totally different kiddo, it’s amazing," Perez said. "And socially, my biggest fear as a parent of a special needs child is sending him to this big school, is he going to have friends? ABA has helped so much with that."

Perez created the “Project ABA Rights” Facebook group in May 2023 to advocate for all students to receive the help they may need to succeed, like Grayson. 

“They’re the seventh largest district in the country, and so I think if Hillsborough can make these changes, then I think other surrounding districts can do the same," Perez said. "So I’m hoping that other districts will take on this verbiage and allow for these kids to have therapy in their schools.”

Perez said the Facebook group has connected her with many families who also have children on the spectrum, and together, they’ll continue their fight to give their kids a better future. 

The changes to the PIP Policy in Hillsborough County went into effect immediately. Perez has started an online petition to get the law changed at the state level to include the same verbiage as Hillsborough County.