Ector County ISD board upholds denials of Boyer family's attendance grievances

The Ector County Independent School District (ECTOR COUNTY ISD) board on Dec. 8, 2025 heard a level-3 grievance from Vincent and Mrs. Boyer alleging that campus staff and district investigators had unfairly questioned their child's absences and failed to provide required accommodations. After 20-minute presentations by the Boyers and district administrators and a period of trustee questioning, the board voted to uphold the district'level decisions and denied the Boyers' grievances.

The Boyers told the board their son has been frequently ill for years, that the campus did not adequately respond to requests to test the building for mold, and that a homebound schooling application was improperly handled. "They repeatedly accused us and called our son's absences questionable," Vincent Boyer said during his presentation, asserting the family had submitted doctor notes and email correspondence to the campus and district.

District administrator Dr. Matthew Spivey, serving as a hearing officer for the appeal, summarized the district's investigation and cited board policies and the student handbook for attendance procedures. Spivey said the district's records showed an extended pattern of absences: "Since the start of the 2022-23 school year, their son has missed 231 school days as of Oct. 30," he told the board, and administrators found no substantiated evidence of persecution or discrimination in the grievance record.

Trustees questioned the Boyers and administrators about medical documentation and eligibility for homebound services. Board members and staff explained that homebound instruction is reserved for students with severe or terminal conditions and generally requires medical certification; administration said records did not show documentation that met that standard. A trustee asked whether the Boyers had provided required doctor notes; the Boyers said they had submitted files and that a district staff member had contacted their doctor in a phone call that preceded a rescinded approval.

After both sides gave closing remarks, the board considered three separate agenda motions to dispose of the Boyers' level-3 grievances. A trustee moved to uphold the level-2 decision concerning the grievance against campus staff identified in the record as Micah (the motion was seconded); the chair announced a unanimous "aye" and stated the grievance was denied. The board then moved and passed a motion to uphold the level-2 decision in the grievance against Julie Marshall, and similarly voted to uphold the level-2 decision regarding Mauricio Marquez. Trustees offered remarks urging the family and staff to focus on the student's well-being and to seek compromise.

The board's actions were procedural: trustees recorded that they had reviewed the grievance file, heard the parties and representatives, and chose to affirm the prior administrative determinations. The meeting record shows the board relied on the documentation and attendance data in the grievance file and on district policies governing attendance and appeals.

The meeting began with the chair certifying compliance with Texas Government Code section 551.001 and ended with the chair adjourning the board at about 8:30 p.m. The grievances remain denied by the local board; the Boyers' written materials and the district's records were entered into the hearing record.