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Texas First Court of Appeals (Houston)
Board Should not have Skipped a Step
Before Suspending Teacher without Pay
Ruling: The education commissioner correctly ruled that an ISD, in suspending a teacher without pay for “egregious conduct,” violated the teacher’s due process rights. Sheldon ISD v. Brandon Romero and [Education Commissioner] Mike Morath, No. 01-21-00023-CV. Issued July 14.

A three-member First Court panel agreed with the commissioner’s decision that SISD’s school board violated the Education Code by not giving King High School teacher/coach Romero an opportunity to request a hearing by an independent hearing examiner (IHE) before the board voted to suspend his term contract without pay.

Although the board gave Romero the opportunity to request a hearing by an IHE after it had voted to suspend him without pay, this wasn’t allowed by the Education Code, the commissioner ruled.

The justices also upheld the commissioner’s order that SISD must pay Romero for the back salary he lost while being suspended without pay — from the board’s March 5, 2019, vote to suspend him without pay until the end of the 2018-19 school year, when he was no longer employed by the district due to Romero having resigned, as of that date, in lieu of termination.

The record reflects that SISD was eager to remove Romero from its payroll quickly due to his admission, via a statement he signed, that he had sent late night, nonwork related electronic communications to female students (including some that were sexually suggestive), and had invited two female students to his home to drink alcohol.