Boerne ISD panel upholds district's Level 2 finding in Caleb Hudson grievance over parental access

Boerne, Texas — A three-member Boerne Independent School District (BISD) board committee on May 4, 2026, voted to uphold a Level 2 administrative finding after hearing a Level 3 grievance from parent Caleb Hudson, who challenged the district's handling of parental access to conferences and the completeness of the grievance record.

Hudson, who identified himself as the children's father and a joint managing conservator, told the panel that campus staff had required "mutual agreement" before he could attend a parent-teacher conference and that the board packet (he said it exceeded 3,000 pages) initially omitted a material rebuttal document. "Follow Texas law and stop searching for loopholes based on one employee parent's preferences," Hudson said in his closing remarks, arguing the record was "incomplete and structurally imbalanced." He declined to answer board questions during the hearing.

In its response, Chief Administrative Officer Dr. John O'Hare said the district recognizes joint managing conservators have equal rights to educational information but that state and federal law guarantee access to information rather than a right to joint physical attendance. Citing Texas Family Code —153.073, Texas Education Code Chapter 26 and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), O'Hare said BISD had taken steps to provide both parents access to records, added Skyward notes to prompt staff to notify both parents, and offered alternatives such as separate conferences, Zoom, and recorded sessions. "We have granted the remedies we believe are reasonable and appropriate," O'Hare said, asking the committee to uphold the Level 2 decision.

The administration told the panel it had identified 19 public information requests from Hudson between Oct. 11, 2025, and Feb. 25, 2026, engaged outside counsel to assist, and in some cases sought rulings from the Texas attorney general on withholding exemptions. O'Hare said staff had spent more than 100 hours researching and producing responsive documents and that any withheld documents fell within attorney-client privilege or AG-approved exceptions.

Board members questioned how campuses interpret divorce decrees and whether separate conferences provide the same decision-making rights as a joint meeting. O'Hare described an internal review process that examines decrees for educational-rights language and refers unusual questions to legal counsel, and said that when a parent makes a decision in one conference, the other parent retains independent decision-making rights and may make different decisions in a separate meeting.

After deliberation, Trustee Garrett Wilson moved to uphold the Level 2 decision; Christy Schmidt seconded. The panel adopted the motion by voice vote and the chair announced the motion carried. The committee then adjourned at 6:23 p.m.

Why it matters: The hearing clarifies how Boerne ISD interprets parental-rights language in divorce decrees in practice: the district emphasizes guaranteeing equal access to information rather than guaranteeing joint physical attendance at conferences. The case also highlights procedural questions about record completeness and public-information request handling that the parent said remain unresolved.

What's next: The panel's decision at this Level 3 hearing is the district's final administrative decision on the grievance. Hudson requested corrections to the record and further administrative direction; the district said it will continue to provide access to educational records and follow statutory and policy procedures for record corrections and information requests.