NEISD board upholds administration decision denying extended assault leave for Windcrest teacher

The Northeast Independent School District board on Wednesday voted 6–1 to uphold the administration's level‑2 decision denying an extension of assault leave for a Windcrest Elementary teacher who was assaulted by a student on Sept. 8, 2023.

The vote followed a level‑3 grievance hearing during which the teacher, identified in the record as Catherine Bridal, and her attorney, Tom Cummins, urged trustees to restore assault leave retroactive to March 18, 2024, and to reinstate pay, insurance and other benefits denied after that date. "An employee of the school district who is physically assaulted during the performance of the employee's regular duties, is entitled to the number of days of leave necessary to recuperate from all physical injuries sustained as a result of the assault," Cummins told the board, quoting the statutory standard.

The administration, represented by Shaila Witten, executive director of human resources, said district medical review and independent examinations showed the teacher reached maximum medical improvement for the physical injuries related to the assault by March 17, 2024, and that the statutory assault‑leave entitlement applies only to recovery from physical injuries. Witten said the denial of reinstatement "was appropriate" based on the documentation and applicable law.

Why it matters: the grievance raised overlapping issues of workplace safety, how school districts evaluate assault‑related injuries, and how assault leave interacts with workers' compensation and other leave programs. The board's decision leaves the teacher's workers' compensation appeal pending while reaffirming the district's prior interpretation of assault‑leave eligibility.

During nearly two hours of questions, trustees pressed both sides on medical evidence, whether accommodations existed within the district, and campus responses to the student who committed the assault. Cummins and Bridal pointed to medical reports describing concussion symptoms, tinnitus localized to the left ear and continuing vestibular symptoms; Cummins cited a March 25, 2024, report from Dr. Stephanie Heffel diagnosing "post‑concussion syndrome with migraines, myofascial pain, left jaw, and PTSD." Bridal told trustees, "I've had a family of mosquitoes living in my left ear from the time I got knocked upside the head with the book," describing persistent tinnitus.

The administration described multiple medical reviews, including independent medical examinations and a designated doctor process tied to the workers' compensation claim. Witten and district risk management staff said several physicians concluded the teacher had reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) for the physical injuries and that the remaining impairments identified in some reports were not, in the administration's view, physical injuries attributable to the assault for purposes of assault leave under Texas Education Code Section 22.003(b).

Trustees also questioned timelines for campus behavioral supports and how quickly the district responds when a student demonstrates repeated disruptive behavior. Windcrest campus principal Hope De Limas described the district's processes for requesting behavior interventionists and holding ARD (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) meetings for special education students, and said supports were requested early in the school year.

After reconvening from executive session, the board accepted a motion to uphold the level‑2 decision. The motion passed 6 to 1. President Byers noted the board "would like the administration to continue to conduct a review of the process to ensure all communication is necessary and concise" and to review assault‑leave committee procedures to make them clear and accessible to employees.

What the decision does and does not do: the board's vote upheld the district's prior administrative determination denying extension of assault leave beyond March 17, 2024. The vote did not resolve the teacher's separate workers' compensation appeal, which remains pending before the state commissioner, nor did it grant the retroactive pay and benefits the teacher requested.

Trustees and staff described next steps as internal reviews of communications and procedures; trustees also said individual members would pursue policy changes within the board's authority. The record lists the district's third‑party administrator for workers' compensation as Athens and notes the teacher has pursued an independent workers' compensation process.