Parent tells Sharyland ISD board student with disabilities suffered years of bullying, asks for accountability
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Summary
Monica Flores told the Sharyland ISD board her son, a student in special education, experienced bullying for about three years and that repeated reports produced no follow-up. She urged transparent investigations, training, and mental-health supports and cited Section 504, IDEA and David’s Law.
Monica Joanne Flores told the Sharyland Independent School District Board of Trustees at the district’s public comment period that her son, a student in the special education program, has been bullied for roughly three years and that school officials did not follow up on her reports.
“I am not here tonight to point fingers but demand accountability and change,” Flores said, describing a pattern of no calls, no emails and no meetings after she reported incidents to school staff. She told the board the student has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and said the district’s inaction contributed to a decline in his mental health.
Flores cited federal and state protections, telling the board that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) require schools to provide a safe educational environment and to ensure students with disabilities are not denied equal access to education. She also referenced guidance from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and Texas Education Code 37.0832 (David’s Law) as requiring prompt investigations and parent notification when bullying affects a student’s access to education.
Flores asked the district to: ensure bullying investigations are handled with transparency and urgency; provide staff training to recognize, report and respond to bullying involving students with disabilities; and offer meaningful mental-health supports (counseling, peer support and consistent follow-up) to bullied students.
The transcript shows Flores’s testimony but does not record an immediate response from district administration to the specific allegations during public comment. The board later discussed districtwide special education and improvement-plan priorities as part of other agenda items, but no direct remedies or case-specific actions in response to Flores’s account appear in the meeting record.
The board did not take formal action connected to Flores’s public comment during the meeting. Flores said she remains committed to working with the district but urged clear accountability measures so other families do not face similar experiences.