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Commissioner's Decision
In Nonrenewing Teacher’s Term Contract
Commissioner Finds no Conflict of Interest
Over Choice of ISD’s Lawyer as “Hearing Officer”
Ruling: It was okay for an attorney from an ISD’s law firm to serve as the “hearing officer” during a teacher’s nonrenewal hearing before her school board, even if the attorney had previously advocated for the district in settlement negotiations with the teacher. Mary Hernandez v. Arlington ISD, No. 024-R1-12-2019. Signed Jan. 27 by Education Commissioner Mike Morath.
During the school board hearing on the nonrenewal of homebound teacher Hernandez’ term contract, an attorney (Dennis J. Eichelbaum) from the district’s law firm served as the “hearing officer” and another attorney (Scott Thomas) from the same law firm represented the district’s administration in advocating for nonrenewal.
Settlement Negotiations
Prior to the board hearing, Eichelbaum and Thomas had both advocated for AISD in settlement negotiations with Hernandez and her attorneys, in which Hernandez reportedly rejected the district’s offer that she voluntarily resign in lieu of being nonrenewed. (Eichelbaum and Thomas also represented AISD in opposing Hernandez’ subsequent appeal to the commissioner after the school board voted to nonrenew her contract.)
Hernandez’ attorneys, during the board hearing and in the appeal to the commissioner, argued that it was “inherently unfair” for Eichelbaum to have been assigned as the “hearing examiner” when he had also previously been involved in the settlement negotiations on behalf of AISD.
“Hearing Officers” ≠ “Hearing Examiners”
The commissioner disagreed, including by noting that the characterization by Hernandez’ attorneys that Eichelbaum had been the “hearing examiner” was “technically incorrect” because Eichelbaum had been the “hearing officer.”
The commissioner discussed the differences between hearing examiners and the more limited functions of a hearing officer, including by noting that unlike hearing examiners, the role of hearing officers is to advise boards during hearings on how to procedurally proceed without interfering with the board’s independence. Also, unlike hearing examiners, rulings made by hearing officers can be immediately corrected or changed by school boards.
All of these conditions placed on the hearing officer were publicly announced at the onset of the nonrenewal hearing, the commissioner noted.
After concluding — based on a review of prior court rulings and commissioner’s decisions — that it was okay for Eichelbaum to have been assigned the task of hearing officer, the commissioner denied Hernandez’ appeal to overturn the board’s nonrenewal decision on a finding that there was “substantial evidence” of her “professional deficiencies” accepted into evidence during the hearing to support nonrenewal.