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Parent tells Buffalo ISD board her daughter was not interviewed after alleged educator misconduct
Summary
During the public-comment period a parent told the Buffalo ISD Board that her daughter was never interviewed in an investigation of alleged inappropriate verbal conduct by an educator and said she has filed complaints with the Office for Civil Rights and plans to file with TEA.
A parent addressing the Buffalo ISD Board during public comment said her minor daughter was the subject of inappropriate, nonphysical conduct by an adult educator and that the district’s investigation relied solely on the educator’s account. The parent said the student was not interviewed by school administrators or school police, and that only after contacting the Leon County Sheriff’s Office did local law enforcement take a recorded statement.
The parent said she could not find any record of a CPS report and that she has filed a complaint with the federal Office for Civil Rights and will file with the Texas Education Agency. “My daughter is sitting here today in front of you. I ask that you take a moment to look at her and understand that this is a student who was never given a voice in the system that was supposed to protect her,” the parent told trustees during the meeting. The speaker requested that trustees correct what she characterized as “a failure of accountability.”
Board leadership told the speaker the board would not answer questions during the meeting and that staff would consider the comments. The parent raised multiple concerns the board and staff will need to address in follow-up: whether the district complied with mandatory reporting obligations, why district incident records indicated both parties had reported the incident when the parent said she alone had filed a report, and why the district’s internal complaint processes did not include an interview of the student. The parent said she had sought records from the principal and superintendent with no response.
The board did not take action on the complaint during the meeting; the speaker said she had initiated external reviews. The board’s procedural rules read at the start of the meeting say patrons with personnel-related concerns should first use regular channels and that the board will refer concerns to appropriate staff members rather than engage in discussion during open session.
