August 2026 Commissioner’s Decisions Posted
Ten decisions — and 13 proposals for decisions — were issued in August.
Commissioner’s Decisions
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Morath Affirms Brownsville ISD Counselor’s Firing Over Daughter’s Altered Grades
Ruling: An ISD properly nonrenewed a school school counselor’s contract due to substantial circumstantial evidence that the she changed her daughter’s grades to boost the daughter’s school ranking to valedictorian status.
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Morath Backs Spring ISD in Use-of-Force Case Against Teacher
Ruling: A school district properly fired a teacher for dragging an unruly third-grade student down a hallway for about six seconds.
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Morath Sends Parent’s “Critical Race Theory” Complaint Back to Austin ISD
A school board must conduct further proceedings before the education commissioner can …
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Morath Dismisses Floresville ISD Student’s Threat Case Appeal
Ruling: The education commissioner lacks the authority to overrule a school district’s disciplinary action against a student who sent a text threatening to “shoot up” the school.
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Morath Orders Brenham ISD Board to Hold Grievance Hearing
Ruling: An ISD’s board violated state education law by not holding a hearing on an ex-employee’s grievance.
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Morath Tosses Fredericksburg ISD Parent’s 2nd Library Appeal
Ruling: An ISD’s policy on reviewing and removing library books does not violate state law.
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Morath: Mansfield ISD’s Board Fumbled Parents’ Grievances
Ruling: A school board can’t shirk its responsibility to consider a parental grievance by invoking a lack-of-a-quorum board meeting loophole.
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Morath Says Eanes ISD Lawfully Fired CPS-Cleared Teacher
Accused teacher who helped leak confidential info about his student accuser loses education commissioner appeal.
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Morath Upholds La Joya ISD HR Director’s Firing
Ruling: Although an ISD failed to show that its human resource’s director committed fraud, the…
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Morath Dismisses Lockney ISD Dual Credit Grade Appeal as “Moot”
Ruling: An ISD’s refusal to award weighted credit to a student who took a junior…
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Morath Dismisses Lake Travis ISD Parent’s Special-Ed Video Appeal
Ruling: A parent (and her attorney) can view — but not “receive” — video surveillance footage that the parent claims may have captured a teacher’s alleged assault of her special-ed child. That’s because the footage is not the subject of litigation the parent has filed.
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Morath Upholds Hale Center ISD CFO’s Firing
Ruling: An ISD’s board properly voided its chief financial officer’s employment contract because the contract…
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Morath: Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD Properly Nonrenewed Teacher Over Copper Wire Theft Admission
Ruling: An ISD properly nonrenewed a teacher’s contract over his reported admission that he had…
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Morath Grants Grandview ISD Parent’s Special-Ed Appeal
Ruling: A school district can’t arbitrarily block a parent’s special-ed grievance from reaching the school board level for a decision just because the TEA has ruled on the parent’s separate special-ed complaint to the agency.
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Morath Affirms Axtell ISD Student’s Senior Class Trip Disqualification
An appeal to the education commissioner over an ISD’s disqualification of a graduating senior for the senior class trip to Florida is dismissed because the trip has been completed (and for other reasons).
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Morath Affirms La Joya ISD Principal’s Firing
An ISD justifiably fired an elementary principal for not immediately and adequately investigating an alleged incident at her school — and for taking too long (five days) to report the alleged incident to district higher-ups.
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Morath Dismisses Leander ISD Trustee’s Sexual Harassment Complaint
Ruling: The education commissioner lacks the legal authority to consider a school board member’s complaint…
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Llano ISD Taxpayer (for now) Can’t Challenge Library Book
Ruling: A school district taxpayer — who has no children enrolled in the district —…
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Morath Dismisses Complaint Against Independent Hearing Examiner
Ruling: An independent hearing examiner did nothing wrong by holding a scheduled due process hearing…
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Morath Rules Against Ex-Southwest ISD Board Member
Ruling: A school board’s decision to deny a grievance filed by two former board members is upheld.
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Morath: Mart ISD’s Board Had “Good Cause” to Fire Superintendent
Ruling: An ISD board’s firing of its superintendent was justified due to evidence that she…
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Morath: Lewisville ISD Violated Student Psychological Testing Law
Ruling: An ISD should have obtained parental written permission before administering two psychological “screenings” to…
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Morath Issues Precedent Setting Decision on School Library Book Challenges
Ruling: A school board must first make specific findings that library books challenged by a…
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Commissioner Denies Ex-Humble ISD Superintendent’s Termination Appeal
Ruling: A superintendent’s “disruptive relationships” — that resulted in the district spending more than $1.3…
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Commissioner Dismisses Employee Termination Appeals Arising from Two Charters
Ruling: The commissioner lacks the legal authority to consider employment termination appeals arising from charter…
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Commissioner Dismisses Citizen’s Demand to “Immediately Remove” Edgewood ISD Trustee from the School Board
Ruling: The education commissioner lacks the legal authority to grant appeals seeking the removal of…
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Commissioner Sides with Beaumont ISD Over Police Officer’s Firing
Ruling: The education commissioner lacks the legal authority to overturn the termination of an “at-will”…
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Commissioner: Port Arthur ISD Properly Nonrenewed ESSER Funded Administrator When Funding Ceased
Ruling: An ISD did not have to follow the steps required under its reduction in force (RIF) policy when nonrenewing the term contract of a grant-funded administrator when the grant funding the position ran out.
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Edgewood ISD Trustee’s Mom Fails to Convince Commissioner to Revise School Board’s Censure of her Son
Ruling: The education commissioner lacks the legal authority to consider complaints about school boards’ censure resolutions that do not violate Texas school laws, and he cannot require that school boards reprimand school employees.
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Commissioner Turns to Dictionary in Upholding Firing of Galveston ISD Probationary Teacher
Ruling: An ISD timely informed a teacher that her school board had voted to terminate her probationary contract.
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Commissioner Affirms Decisions by Lewisville and Frisco ISD Boards to Reject Annexation/Detachment Petitions
An appeal to the education commissioner by several families seeking to overturn the decisions by two school boards to reject their annexation/detachment petitions is dismissed.
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Lubbock ISD’s Voiding of an Administrator’s Contract Upheld
Ruling: The education commissioner can’t overturn a school board decision to void an employment contract…
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Commissioner Dismisses Fredericksburg ISD Parent’s Challenge to About 48 “Restricted” School Library Books
Ruling: A parent’s appeal asking that the education commissioner order an ISD to entirely remove…
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Registered “Low Risk” Sex Offender Parent Loses Appeal Over Odem-Edroy ISD’s School Entry Restrictions
Ruling: A parent’s claim of being a “low risk” registered sex offender doesn’t exempt him…
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Ex-Houston ISD Teacher’s Termination Appeal Came 22 Years Too Late
Ruling: A teacher waited too long to challenge the termination of her probationary contract 22 years ago.
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Disabled Parent Loses Appeal Over Frisco ISD’s Mandatory Online Student Registration Process
Ruling: An ISD did not have to grant a disabled parent’s request for paper based…
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Ex-Denton ISD Coach Can’t Force School Board to Consider his Grievance Over Conflict with Another Coach
Ruling: A former ISD athletic coach skipped the procedural steps required to ensure that the…
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Venus ISD Wrongly Rejected Parental Request to Opt Student Out of Accelerated Instruction
Ruling: A school district must exempt a student from state-required accelerated instruction if the student’s…
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Parental Appeals Against Two Charters Dismissed
Ruling: Decisions by charter schools are not appealable to the …
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Devers ISD’s Board Properly Based Teacher’s Nonrenewal on “Anonymous” Statements by Students and Parents
Ruling: A teacher was not entitled to learn the identities of the students and parents…
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Commissioner Dismisses Parental Appeals Involving Coppell, Frisco and Garland ISDs
The education commissioner recently dismissed the following parental appeals for procedural reasons — such as…
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Alamo Heights ISD Assistant Principal who Texted “FML” to a Parent Loses Termination Appeal
Ruling: A school board fired a high school assistant principal for “good cause” because she:…
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Criminally Charged Alice ISD Special-Ed Teacher Loses Nonrenewal Appeal
Ruling: Classroom video, parental complaints, a letter from a disability rights advocacy group — and…
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Arlington ISD Employee’s Grievance was Improperly “Abated”
Ruling: A school board should not have indefinitely postponed the consideration of an employee’s grievance…
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McKinney ISD Skipped a Required Step in Banning Parent from District’s Property for Two Years
Ruling: An ISD didn’t give a parent the legally required prior warning before summarily issuing…
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Sinton ISD Parental Complaint Dismissed Over How their Child was Drug Tested at School
Ruling: A parental complaint alleging that a 12-year-old female student was subjected to “egregious, brutal,…
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Hays CISD Owes $13,240.80 to Teacher Fired for “Particularly Heinous Crimes”
Ruling: Believing that a teacher had committed “particularly heinous crimes” did not justify a school…
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Richardson ISD Parent Loses Appeal Over a PG Rated Disney Movie Shown to her Child at School
Ruling: A state law that allows parents to give written notice to excuse their children…
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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…
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Alvarado ISD’s Decision to Ban Registered Sex Offender Parent from a Campus Event is Upheld
Ruling: An ISD didn’t violate state parental rights laws by telling a parent — who…
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Months-Old Complaint Over Lubbock ISD’s COVID-19 Policy Dismissed
Ruling: The education commissioner is not legally empowered to consider a complaint over an ISD’s…
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Silsbee ISD Maintenance/Transportation Director Loses Voided Employment Contract Appeal
Ruling: A school board did not have to give its director of maintenance and transportation…
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Citizen’s Complaints about a Crockett ISD Elementary School Dismissed
Ruling: A citizen’s complaint that an ISD’s leadership failed to address poor testing performance and…
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Hearne ISD Parent’s Special-Ed Appeal to Commissioner Dismissed
Ruling: A parent who previously filed special-ed related complaints against her child’s ISD with the…
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Dallas ISD Teacher Loses Appeal Despite Hearing Examiner’s Failure to Follow State Law
Ruling: Although an independent hearing examiner (IHE) apparently violated state law by granting an ISD’s…
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Gladewater ISD Granted Special-Ed Camera Installation Deadline Extension
Ruling: An ISD’s request to extend the state mandated deadline to grant a parental request…
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