For as long as I can remember, school district administrators have been comfortable placing employees on paid administrative leave in the best interest of the district and reassigning even Chapter 21 contract employees to another department, position, or campus so long as the reassignment did not result in a change in the employee’s contract or pay, and the new position was in “the same professional capacity.”

It’s election season! That wonderful span when all Americans make the time and mental effort to reflect on and celebrate the fact that we are more alike than we are different and when we, as an electorate, focus on the real issues to be worked on instead of being distracted by curated, quasi-contextual soundbites that serve only to divide us and make political consultants rich. Or…something like that.

For anyone working in public schools, the category of “things I didn’t sign up for” seems to be expanding rapidly. It is increasingly routine, for example, to receive a subpoena for either testimony or documents in conjunction with your work as an educator. While no one would recommend that you ignore a subpoena, there are rules that must be followed by anyone seeking to issue and serve a subpoena. School staff are often unaware of these rules and can inadvertently make it easier to be subpoenaed, which can create a distraction from school-related duties and place school staff in the middle of legal disputes having nothing to do with them. More problematic is how frequently districts are asked to produce student or employee records via subpoena. If the subpoena is not properly served under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, this can impact a district’s ability to lawfully produce otherwise protected records.

As districts face an ever-increasing number of community “watchdogs” and social media warriors posting opinions on issues based on, at best, 50% of the actual facts, it is common to question what the legal remedies are for defamed districts, employees, and officials. On the other hand, districts may also question what recourse the public may have against them and their employees and officials when defending themselves in a public forum on a controversial issue. Below is a brief analysis of each of those situations.

Texas school districts are authorized to provide public school transportation. For those that do, motor vehicle accidents are fertile ground for claims against school districts. School districts may benefit from taking the time to review their risk management approach to the provision of transportation services.

For many school districts, posting information on district websites and social media has become a vital tool in how districts communicate with their parents, students and communities. Additionally, the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Legislature have created a number of legal requirements involving posting information regarding transparency and district operations. Posting this information the district website is one way to ensure compliance with the law. Everything from your District of Innovation Plan to your school calendar to the next week’s lunch menu are available to anyone, at any time, day or night, via your district website.

At this point we don’t need to impress upon you the meaningful impacts that a well-written District of Innovation (“DOI”) Plan can have on school operations. After nearly ten years of the DOI experiment, it’s no secret that these plans are powerful tools—especially if properly drafted. Whether your District is seeking to adopt a plan for the first time, to renew an expiring plan, or to amend an existing plan, you must ensure that you carefully consider including the latest and greatest exemptions. This quick article will address some of the most popular and emerging innovations worth considering.

A Garland ISD employee is on administrative leave after allegedly taking photos of a female elementary school student while she was in the restroom. The incident reportedly took place during the week of March 29 at Abbett Elementary, according to an email sent to parents on Thursday, April 1. view article

Pursuant to subsection 38.001(f) of the Education Code, the Legislature provided that a student who has not received the immunizations required by law “for reasons of conscience, including because of the person’s religious beliefs, may be excluded from school in times of emergency or epidemic declared by the commissioner of public health.” Read in context, a court likely would conclude that this exception does not permit exclusion of students who lack vaccinations unrelated to an existing "epidemic" contemplated by subsection 38.001(f). view article

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On May 4, 2020, the Department of Education (“DOE”) issued new Title IX regulations, which direct how educational institutions receiving federal funds must address reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault involving both students and employees. view article

At SL&A, we offer a full array of legal services for our school law clients throughout Texas. We strive to deliver a high-level of client service through teamwork, calling upon our attorneys’ decades of public and private experience to provide practical solutions and advice for all school needs. view article

Officers with the Hudson ISD Police Department arrested a former math teacher for the school district on Monday in connection to allegations that he had an improper relationship with a high school student that included sexual contact. view article

On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) officially filed a grievance against the Wimberley Independent School District, according to our partners at the Austin-American Statesman. The grievance is the result of an email Superintendent Dwain York sent to some parents in December 2019 regarding the altering of the district's logo to include the colors of the gay pride flag, according to the Statesman. view article

A former student has filed a lawsuit against Dallas ISD after he lost his status as his high school’s salutatorian a day before graduation due to a last minute change in rankings. In June, the district apologized after class rankings at Woodrow Wilson High School were changed right before graduation because of a calculation error. Now a former student is suing Dallas ISD, claiming that the change will affect his applications to universities and employers. view article

Terry Burchett, 69, was arrested in South Carolina on February 18 on charges of child pornography. He was found to be in possession of over 9,800 sexually explicit images of children according to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. view article

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Irving ISD and the city of Irving by Ahmed Mohamed's family, according to Dallas Morning News. Ahmed made headlines when he was 14 years old and made a clock in school that was mistaken for a bomb in 2015. His family stated that his civil rights were violated when he was arrested at MacArthur High School and charged with making a "hoax bomb." The charge was later dropped, but he was still suspended. view article

A Lockhart High School science teacher has been arrested for having an improper relationship with a 17-year-old male student. Sarah Fowlkes started at the district in October 2014. On March 10, 2017 a school administrator reached out to Lockhart Police after receiving a "concerning report." LPD launched an investigation and determined Fowlkes was engaged in sexual contact with the student. view article

The plaintiffs continued building their case Tuesday in the instance of a student at Lewisville ISD who is suing the school for Title IX violations. The girl was 14 years old when she said she went to a high school party and got sexually assaulted by two high school football players at Hebron, a school in the Lewisville district. view article

When Deron Harrington filed a lawsuit on behalf of three parents in May 2015, he was trying to make sure the district where his kids attended school was following student truancy laws. He had a hunch that wasn't the case. At the time, Fort Bend ISD was making headlines for referring thousands of students to the county's specialized truancy court. Data showed a disproportionate number of the district's students referred to truancy court were African-American. As a lawyer, Harrington thought he could make a difference. view article

On March 11, 2016, the Texas Education Agency Commissioner of Education, Mike Morath, requested an opinion from the Texas Attorney General on the implementation of SB 507. This new law requires video surveillance of certain special education settings upon request beginning in the 2016-2017 school year. In an earlier blog post, I outlined the provisions of SB 507. view article

More than two months after a tornado hit Shields Elementary School in northern Ellis County on Dec. 26, Red Oak ISD confirmed Thursday that the original builder of the school, Ratcliff Constructors, has agreed to pay for the repairs. Fox 4's Lori Brown began investigating concerns about the quality of construction at the school  in Glenn Heights after an exterior wall collapsed in the tornado. view article

When Gene and Shirene McIntyre met with an attendance officer in the El Paso Independent School District in November 2006, their nine grandchildren had already been homeschooled for more than a year. But they were concerned the kids weren’t getting a proper education. view article

Harrison County District Attorney Coke Solomon says there is a criminal investigation involving a Hallsville High School coach on administrative leave who recently resigned. Solomon said his office forwarded a request for information about Dean McDaniel to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office for an opinion on whether to withhold the information because he believes releasing it could interfere with the investigation. view article

The Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD (C-FB ISD) Board of Trustees on Thursday  approved a settlement agreement with Guillermo Ramos and Brewer Storefront in relation to a voting rights lawsuit. The board approved the settlement agreement by a 5-2 vote. Board members Frank Shor, Nancy Watten, Nancy Cline, James Goode and John Mathews vote in approval. view article

For nearly 15 years, the Arlington Independent School District has been searching for the right project to fill a piece of land it owns in the 3200 block of Pioneer Parkway. When voters approved a bond package in 2014, officials said they finally found a good one. "We want to make this a successful district facility that serves both the community and the students well," said Leslie Johnston, spokesperson for Arlington ISD. view article

Two gunmen were killed Sunday night in Garland after opening fire on a security officer outside a provocative contest for cartoon depictions of Prophet Muhammad, and a bomb squad was called in to search their vehicle as a precaution, authorities said. Police were using robotic detection equipment to search the vehicle. No device has been found so far. view article

On April 6, 2015, the Shallowater ISD administration was informed by the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Department that it had completed its investigation into an incident that occurred between an employee of the district and a student during an athletic period on March 31, 2015, and that it was closing the matter without recommending any further action by law enforcement.  view article

The Waco Independent School District board of trustees is in discussions with Bartlett Cocke General Contracts over leaking pipes causing damage under University High School’s gymnasium showers. The board has met in closed sessions several times since October to determine whether Bartlett or a plumbing subcontractor, MJ Mechanical Inc., is responsible for the problems. view article

A teenager says a substitute teacher with the  Conroe Independent School District groped her in class. The alleged victim's mother tells Local 2 she wants the school to take a tougher stance. The family says there may be more victims out there who are afraid to come forward and that's why they want Oak Ridge High School to notify other parents about what happened to the girl. view article

Allen ISD school  board members received a progress report Monday night on the Eagle Stadium repairs. More brick has been added to the scoreboard to create a staircase-like structural support  system. Inside the stadium, crews are breaking out the bricks to allow for the installation  of horizontal steel beams.  Cracks in the concourse were first spotted shortly after the stadium opened in August of 2012. view article

From Whitehouse Independent School District: Whitehouse Independent School District has received notification from a contracted archival company that a vehicle trailer containing certain records of some former students was recently stolen. As a part of the district's ongoing records management program, a third-party service located in Shreveport, Louisiana periodically archives a portion of WISD's paper files of former students. view article

South San Antonio ISD police received a tip Tuesday that district employee Jake Contreras was carrying brass knuckles and possibly a knife on school property. District police questioned Contreras At Madla Elementary, and searched his backpack and discovered a set of brass knuckles, as well as a pipe that appeared to be used for smoking methamphetamines. view article

South San Antonio ISD police received a tip Tuesday that district employee Jake Contreras was carrying brass knuckles and possibly a knife on school property. District police questioned Contreras At Madla Elementary, and searched his backpack and discovered a set of brass knuckles, as well as a pipe that appeared to be used for smoking methamphetamines. view article

Officials with the El Paso County Republican Party are questioning the legality of a proposed early voting site on the West Side. Two GOP leaders in El Paso said the proposed designation of the Canutillo Independent School District's administration building as a permanent early voting location "leaves the appearance of impropriety" because a school district trustee is on the ballot in a justice of the peace race. view article