Defensa de Empleados de Escuela en Texas

Quien cuenta como non-certified school employee bajo Capitulo 22

Texas Education Code Capitulo 22 covers all employees of a school district, open-enrollment charter school, education service center, regional education service center, y certain private contractors who have access to students. Categories include:

• Paraprofessionals. Instructional aides, paraeducators, classroom assistants, special education aides, bilingual aides.
• Transportation. Bus drivers, bus aides, transportation coordinators, transportation maintenance staff.
• Food service. Cafeteria managers, cooks, servers, cashiers, nutrition coordinators.
• Operations. Custodians, maintenance workers, groundskeepers, facilities managers, energy management staff.
• Administrative. Receptionists, clerical staff, registrars, attendance clerks, secretaries, library aides.
• Security. Security officers, school resource officers (if district employees), security coordinators.
• Technology. IT support, network administrators, instructional technology staff, library media specialists (if not certified).
• Health. School health aides (if not certified nurses), health room assistants.
• Contractors. Bajo seccion 22.0834, certain contractors with student access subject to similar requirements.

Distinction de certified employees important: SBEC has no direct authority over non-certified employees. Discipline is district-level (employer action). Statutory framework focuses on background checks, ineligibility determinations, y district employment decisions rather than centralized state licensing discipline.

Some employees fall into hybrid categories: SBEC-certified librarians serving in non-instructional roles, certified teachers working as paraprofessionals, certified counselors working as health aides. The applicable standards depend on the role being performed.

La lista de inelegibilidad seccion 22.0833 — the categorical bar

Texas Education Code seccion 22.0833 establishes categorical ineligibility for school employment based on certain criminal convictions. Disqualifying offenses include:

Mandatory permanent disqualification.:

• Conviction for felony involving moral turpitude.
• Conviction for offense against student.
• Conviction for offense requiring sex offender registration bajo CCP Cap. 62.
• Conviction for capital murder, murder, kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, continuous sexual abuse, indecency with child, aggravated sexual assault.
• Certain controlled substance felonies involving minors.

Discretionary disqualification.:

• Misdemeanor involving moral turpitude (district discretion).
• Other felony convictions (district discretion based on relevance).
• Pattern of misdemeanors suggesting unfitness.
• Convictions related to dishonesty, fraud, theft (relevant to position duties).

Reporting requirements. Bajo seccion 22.0834, employees must notify employer within specified period of arrest, conviction, indictment for any offense. Districts must conduct periodic criminal history record review (typically annually).

Background check requirements. Bajo seccion 22.083 y 22.0832, all new employees must pass fingerprint-based criminal history check before employment. National background check (NCIC) y state background check (DPS) both required. Continuing employees subject to periodic re-checks.

Defense to ineligibility determinations focuses on: (a) challenging the underlying conviction (if pending o subject to expunction/non-disclosure); (b) demonstrating that conviction is not within statutory disqualification category; (c) for discretionary cases, presenting evidence supporting rehabilitation y fitness; (d) procedural challenges to the determination process.

Como una investigacion del distrito starts y proceeds

District employment investigations typically begin through:

Student or parent complaint. Reported through teacher, counselor, principal, or central administration. Initial determination of whether allegation warrants investigation.

Co-worker report. Reports through supervisor or human resources. May involve concerns about boundaries, performance, or specific incidents.

Performance observation. Supervisor observation of concerning behavior, attendance issues, conduct issues.

Background check results. Periodic background check revealing new criminal activity or undisclosed prior matters.

Criminal arrest. Notification from law enforcement or press coverage of employee criminal involvement. Notably, some districts have policies treating arrest as basis for immediate suspension pending criminal resolution — even before any conviction.

Investigation process.

1. Initial assessment by supervisor o human resources. Determination of investigation scope.

2. Interview with subject employee. Important: employees should request union representative (if union employee) or right to counsel (if termination risk substantial). Statements at this stage frequently determine final outcome.

3. Witness interviews. Co-workers, supervisors, students (with parent consent), parents, other relevant witnesses.

4. Document review. Employment records, evaluations, complaints, communications, incident reports.

5. Determination. Investigator recommendations to administration.

6. Action. Range from no action to verbal counseling to written warning to suspension to termination to non-renewal (for continuing contracts).

Timeline highly variable — simple matters resolved in days; complex matters take weeks to months. Suspended-with-pay status sometimes used during investigation.

El proceso de grievance del distrito — three levels to the board

Texas Education Code Cap. 21 Subchapter G y district policy (typically TASB Policy DGBA o equivalent) provide grievance procedure for non-certified employees. Process:

Level 1 — Immediate supervisor. Written grievance to immediate supervisor within specified period (typically 15 calendar days from incident). Conference scheduled. Written decision. Most matters resolve at this level.

Level 2 — Designated administrator. If unsatisfied with Level 1, appeal to designated administrator (typically director of human resources, area superintendent, or designee). Written appeal within specified period (typically 10 days from Level 1 decision). Conference scheduled. Written decision.

Level 3 — Board of trustees. If unsatisfied with Level 2, appeal to board of trustees. Written appeal within specified period (typically 15 days). Board may consider on written record or conduct hearing. Decision by majority vote.

Appeal to commissioner. Bajo Texas Education Code seccion 7.057, certain school district decisions may be appealed to the Texas Commissioner of Education. Limited scope — typically matters involving violations of school laws, written employment contracts, or specific statutory protections.

Strategic considerations.

• Timeline discipline. Grievance deadlines are strict. Late filings result in loss of grievance rights.
• Documentation. Each level builds on prior. Comprehensive documentation of all communications, decisions, evidence essential.
• Witness preservation. Witnesses may become unavailable. Identifying and obtaining statements early important.
• Procedural vs substantive. Many grievances succeed on procedural grounds (improper notice, denial of hearing, conflict of interest) rather than substantive grounds.
• Parallel options. Grievance procedure parallel to other remedies — EEOC complaint, OCR complaint, litigation.

Tipos comunes de cargo en cases de DFW school-employee

Frequent allegation types in school employee discipline cases:

Boundary violations. Inappropriate communication o physical contact with students, parents, o other staff. May or may not rise to criminal level. Even non-criminal boundary issues frequently result in termination.

Theft. Theft of district property (supplies, equipment, food, money), theft from co-workers, theft from students. Bajo Penal Code 31.03 criminal exposure. District typically terminates regardless of criminal outcome.

Assault. Physical altercation with co-worker, parent, or student. Self-defense claims may have weight in criminal case but typically not in employment context for school employees.

Drug/alcohol violations. On-duty intoxication, possession on school property bajo Penal Code seccion 481.134 (drug-free zone), DWI affecting employment (especially bus drivers).

Documentation falsification. Time records, attendance records, mileage logs, expense reports. Both employment ground y potentially criminal forgery o theft.

Insubordination. Refusing direct supervisor orders, failing to follow district policies, refusing reasonable assignments. Employment ground typically without criminal component.

Performance issues. Documented performance deficiencies, pattern of policy violations, attendance problems. Usually progressive discipline before termination.

Background check issues. Failure to disclose prior convictions, new criminal activity discovered through periodic check, previously undiscovered matters surfaced.

Social media issues. Inappropriate posts, communications with students through personal accounts, posts reflecting poorly on district. Increasingly common as social media use grows.

Federal Title VII overlay sobre arrest-only records

Federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as interpreted by EEOC enforcement guidance, restricts employer reliance on arrest records without conviction. Key principles:

Arrest does not equal guilt. Per EEOC guidance, arrest alone is not reliable evidence of underlying conduct. Reliance on arrest without further inquiry may have disparate impact on protected groups (particularly racial minorities arrested at higher rates).

Conviction inquiry permitted with care. Conviction records may be considered but employer must engage in individualized assessment considering: nature/gravity of offense, time elapsed, nature of job sought.

EEOC three-step analysis for conviction policies.

• 1. Validation that policy is job-related and consistent with business necessity.
• 2. Targeted exclusion based on specific offenses related to job.
• 3. Individualized assessment opportunity for excluded individuals.

EEOC enforcement. EEOC charges challenge employment practices having disparate impact based on race. Disparate impact analysis considers statistical evidence of differential impact on protected groups.

School-specific considerations. Statutory mandatory disqualifications bajo Texas Education Code (e.g., seccion 22.0833) preempt individual assessment for specific listed offenses. But for discretionary disqualifications, EEOC Title VII analysis still applies. Districts must balance compliance con federal anti-discrimination law y state employment restrictions.

Defense applications. If district relies on arrest without conviction, or fails to provide individualized assessment for discretionary disqualifications, federal Title VII challenge may be available. EEOC charge can be filed within 300 days of discriminatory act. Right-to-sue letter enables federal court action.

Other federal protections. ADA (disability), ADEA (age 40+), Title VII (race, sex, religion, national origin), USERRA (military service), FMLA (family and medical leave), retaliation provisions of each statute.

Plea structuring para employment preservation

For school employees facing criminal charges, plea structure can substantially affect employment outcome:

Charge reduction. Reducing felony charge to misdemeanor, or moral-turpitude offense to non-moral-turpitude offense, may avoid categorical disqualification bajo seccion 22.0833. For example, theft Class A reduced to lower-grade theft may preserve discretionary review opportunity.

Deferred adjudication. Bajo CCP Art. 42A.101, deferred adjudication results in successful completion with no conviction. For school employment purposes, deferred adjudication may still be considered in some contexts but is not "conviction" for categorical disqualification purposes. Important: certain offenses ineligible for deferred adjudication (e.g., DWI, sex offenses, some specific felonies).

Pretrial intervention. Some counties offer pretrial intervention programs resulting in dismissal upon successful completion. No conviction record, no deferred adjudication, just dismissal. Best outcome for employment purposes.

Plea timing. Coordinated plea timing relative to employment proceedings can matter. Acceptance of responsibility before employment investigation conclusion may enable acknowledgment-based resolution. Delayed plea may allow employment proceeding to conclude before criminal disposition.

Expunction y non-disclosure. Eligible cases (dismissals, acquittals, certain deferred adjudications) qualify for expunction bajo CCP Cap. 55 o non-disclosure bajo Government Code seccion 411.0731 ff. Successful expunction or non-disclosure may protect against future background check disclosure.

Limitations. Expunction/non-disclosure does not affect pending matters. Some categorical disqualifications include "deferred adjudication" or "indictment" so plea structure alone may not protect. Each case requires individual analysis.

Critical: do not structure plea without considering both criminal and employment consequences. A plea structure that minimizes immediate jail exposure but triggers career-ending employment consequence may be worse than higher criminal exposure with employment preservation.

Unemployment benefits y recovery despues de a discharge

If termination occurs, unemployment compensation claim may be available:

Texas Workforce Commission unemployment. Bajo Texas Labor Code seccion 207.041, employees discharged for reasons other than misconduct may qualify for unemployment benefits. "Misconduct" requires employee fault — performance issues alone may not constitute misconduct.

Misconduct standards. Bajo seccion 207.044, misconduct includes: violation of company rules, mismanagement of position, mismanagement of employer property, repeated violation of company policy. Single occurrence rarely sufficient unless egregious.

Burden of proof. Employer carries burden to prove misconduct. Mere termination is not proof — must show specific conduct meeting misconduct standard.

Hearing process. Initial determination based on paperwork. Either party may appeal to Appeal Tribunal hearing. Telephonic hearing with both sides presenting evidence. Decision usually within 14 days. Further appeal to TWC Commissioners then district court available.

Strategic considerations. Even if unemployment denied, the hearing record may be useful for: subsequent employment applications (unemployment determination not "conviction"), federal Title VII charges, civil litigation, future grievance proceedings.

Re-employment. After termination, finding new school employment difficult. Background check will show termination. Districts frequently contact prior employers regardless of disclosure. Strategy considerations:

• Honest disclosure with context typically better than concealment.
• Non-school employment may be path forward.
• Re-employment in smaller districts or charter schools sometimes easier.
• Time elapsed since termination matters.
• Demonstration of growth/learning since termination helps.

Long-term recovery. School employment discharge can be career-ending but is not always. Many employees find paths back to education through smaller districts, private schools, charter schools, tutoring, training, or related fields.

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