Commissoner’s Decisions

The following decisions were signed by Education Commissioner Michael Williams.

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Firing in El Paso Cheating Scandal Upheld
Upheld: The term-contract termination of an administrator linked to a massive school accountablity scandal. Vanessa Foreman v. El Paso ISD, No. 076-R2-08-2013. Signed Oct. 9.

The commissioner rejected Foreman’s appeal on procedural grounds — on findings she had mailed a legal brief to the TEA after the deadline had expired. The commissioner rejected Foreman’s contention that she had also emailed the brief in a timely manner. Email submissions are not allowed under the commissioner’s rules.

Earlier, an independent hearing examiner had recommended Foreman be terminated due to findings that as an EPISD administrator, she was heavily involved in then-EPISD Superintendent Lorenzo García’s efforts to manipulate high-school accountability ratings by ensuring that students who were not likely to do well on the 10th-grade TAKS tests were either encouraged to drop out, or were not promoted to 10th grade, or by other means. (Garcia is serving a federal prison term.)

The hearing examiner also noted evidence that Foreman had forged a document purporting to be from her attorney that was sent on her behalf to an EPISD lawyer.

The hearing examiner did not accept Foreman’s explanation that the forgery should be excused because she was high on drugs due to gum surgery when she forged the letter.

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Union Wins ISD Salary Schedule Appeal (Again)
Reaffirmed: A 2012 commissioner’s decision holding that an ISD miscalculated 2009 legislatively required pay hikes that were due for several categories of professional staff for School Years 2009-10 and 2010-11. McAllen Federation of Teachers [MFT], Local 6329 v. McAllen ISD, No. 042-R10-0310. Signed Sept. 26.

In July 2012, then-Education Commissioner Robert Scott
ruled against MISD’s contention that it had properly calculated 2009-10 and 2010-11 salaries based on the 2009 legislation.
Scott ruled that MFT members who were affected by the salary miscalculation must have their salaries adjusted for those two school years.

The ISD sued MFT and TEA in a state court in Travis County, which resulted in the trial judge sending the appeal back to the commissioner with instructions to remand the case back to MISD for the purpose of taking additional evidence.

Those MISD proceedings resulted in this latest decision by Commissioner Williams, who included additional factual findings, but left Scott’s bottom-line ruling for the teachers’ union (and against MISD) unchanged.

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Teacher Fired Over Comments to Students
Upheld: The termination of a teacher’s term contract on claims that she stated, during class, that a particular student had stolen her child’s tablet computer and that she encouraged her students to harass the alleged perpetrator using social media, and that she had improperly given out confidential student information. Elizabeth Ethredge v. Waller ISD, No. 003-R2-09-2013. Signed Oct. 28.

Note: The student who allegedly stole the tablet computer was reportedly enrolled in another district.

Although the teacher asserted that the underlying allegations were either not true or were not serious enough to warrant termination, the commissioner upheld the termination on findings that Ethredge failed to dispute WISD’s contention that she failed to comply with specific district policies regarding an employee’s treatment of a student and the use of social media.

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Dismissed: Appeal Over Release of Personal Info
Held: The education commissioner has no authority to hear a complaint by at-will employees over their contention that a district employee violated state law by releasing personal info about them after they signed forms to keep the info private. Dianey Oliveira, et al. v. Weslaco ISD, No. 068-R10-0412. Signed Aug. 30.

Eleven WISD at-will employees (Oliveira, et al.) claimed the release of the info violated Texas Government Code §552.024, which allows government employees to stipulate, on a form, that their home addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers and info on family members won’t be released to the public, even as a result of Public Information Act requests.

The commissioner dismissed the appeal on findings that he lacks jurisdiction, under state law, to rule on the employees’ complaints because the complaints did not involve either: 1) Texas school laws or 2) school employment contracts involving “monetary harm.”

Thus, the commissioner lacks authority to rule on the employees’ complaint because: 1) The Government Code is not a school law, 2) the employees didn’t have written contracts, and 3) there was no “monetary harm” to the employees.

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Commissioner’s Decisions — In Brief

1. Dismissed: A citizen’s request to have “Isaac Newton’s Law of Center Earth Gravity” declared to be invalid and banned from being taught. The commissioner ruled that he lacked legal authority to grant the request. Frank Jeffery Hiri v. Isaac Newton, Newton Law of Center Earth Gravity and TEA, No. 064-R8-0312. Signed Aug. 30.

2. Held: An ISD violated applicable state law when it revoked, after the school year had begun, an agreement to allow an out-of-district student to transfer to the ISD. The law requires transfer agreements to be for one full school year. Child b/n/f Parents v. Skidmore-Tynan ISD, No. 026-R5-1110. Signed Aug. 7.
Note: The commissioner dismissed other claims the parent made against the ISD.

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