Dallas ISD Employee’s Appeal Dismissed Over “Wrong” Type of Employment Contract Claim

Ruling: A school employee’s claim that he was given the wrong type of employment contract — and that his contract was improperly nonrenewed — is dismissed because there was no school board decision from which an appeal to the commissioner could be considered. G. Floyd v. Dallas ISD, No. 055-R10-08-2022. (Commissioner Morath/Jan. 4, 2023)

Background
Floyd asserted to the commissioner that although DISD offered him a term contract for the 2022-23 school year, it was not the correct kind of term contract. He also claimed that the district improperly proposed nonrenewing his contract without first giving him the due process rights to which he was entitled.

Floyd asked the commissioner to: 1) reinstate his prior term contract and 2) order DISD to put him on paid leave until a termination action that was pending against him had been resolved.

• Note: DISD responded by acknowledging that the school board had never voted on nonrenewing Floyd’s contract — while also asserting that Floyd had been given the correct 2022-23 contract. The district also reported to the commissioner that the pending termination action against Floyd had been dropped.

Dismissed
The commissioner dismissed Floyd’s appeal on a finding the commissioner can only consider appeals of decisions voted on by the school board (except in limited cases not applicable here).

The only way the commissioner could consider Floyd’s claims was if he had timely pursued, and completed, DISD’s grievance process on his wrongful contract claim first, the commissioner ruled, in dismissing Floyd’s complaint.