Rockwall Independent School District has started a new school year mired in controversy and uproar after two parents revealed details of an investigation into their son’s pre-K teacher for alleged sexual assault.
A Rockwall grand jury did not return an indictment against the Springer Elementary School teacher in March after hearing the evidence. The child’s parents, Corey and Tim Booth, said the investigations by the sheriff’s office and district attorney’s office were flawed.
The teacher was scheduled to return to Springer Elementary to teach pre-K starting last week, but has been placed on administrative leave for her own safety after threats and was not at the school, according to district administration.
At a board meeting Monday, Rockwall’s school board discussed increasing security camera storage in response to public comments about the investigations.
“Public trust is a priority for Rockwall ISD,” the district stated in the meeting summary. “District administration is working with counsel to understand current state legislation related to cameras in early childhood, general education classrooms.”
Here’s what to know about the investigations, allegations and reactions in the Rockwall school district.
What do the parents say happened?
The Booths believe a Springer Elementary teacher abused their son last fall. On Aug. 8, the parents posted their concerns in a graphic account on Facebook that described their son’s allegations. The post has received thousands of reactions and comments and was shared nearly 10,000 times.
The parents also distributed their statement in a letter to Springer Elementary parents and employees, leaving the letters on cars at an Aug. 8 school event.
The Booths wrote in their Facebook post that in October, their son told them a teacher had exposed herself to him at school.
The Booths said in their post that their son later told them he had been sexually assaulted by the teacher while held back from recess. On Nov. 1, the parents reported the alleged assault to police and an investigation began.
The parents were told by a sheriff’s office investigator that a school officer was reviewing video footage that seemed to show two boys held back from recess, according to their statement.
The parents said the school’s video footage was not presented to the grand jury. Corey Booth told The News on Aug. 13 that investigators told her they received security footage during the investigation and later told her it was deleted.
The parents have other concerns with the investigation. They said teachers were not interviewed properly, police did not search the accused teacher’s phone for evidence and their son was not examined by a nurse in a timely manner following the alleged sexual assault.
The Booths said the teacher was put on paid administrative leave Nov. 1. On March 27, they said a Rockwall grand jury heard the case and declined to indict the teacher. She returned to school in April.
“While the district attorney’s office did issue a ‘no bill,’ that doesn’t mean there wasn’t evidence,” the Booths wrote in another Facebook post Aug. 9. “In fact, rather than dismissing the case, it has been left with the option to retry her when and if more evidence comes to light.”
What to know about the teacher
The News is not naming the teacher because she has not been disciplined by the district or charged with a crime. The teacher did not respond to phone calls and email requests for comment last week.
What did investigations find?
Rockwall ISD said the matter was investigated by the county sheriff’s department, children’s advocacy center, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, the district attorney’s office and the grand jury.
“Four agencies reviewed this case, and the Grand Jury, which is comprised of independent Rockwall County residents, ‘No Billed’ the case and determined that there was insufficient evidence to support probable cause to move forward with prosecution,” Rockwall District Attorney Kenda Culpepper said in a statement.
Rockwall County has said the district attorney’s office is reviewing requests from The News for records related to the case.
“The case was thoroughly investigated with the assistance of the Child Advocacy Center,” the Rockwall sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Culpepper said she is not permitted to respond to questions about the concerns voiced about the investigation due to the nature of the case.
“The law does not allow us to publicly release confidential information about a child sexual abuse investigation,” Culpepper wrote in a statement to The News.
How have parents reacted?
Dozens of people protested over the situation at the Rockwall courthouse Aug. 10, some with signs and some with their children. Others protested at the school on the first day of class or spoke out at last week’s board meeting, a special session called on Aug. 14.
Some families have reconsidered enrolling their children in the district, according to comments made at last week’s board meeting.
At the special session, more then 100 parents, community members and survivors of sexual abuse packed into a board room to share their experiences and express frustration with administrators and county officials.
Some in attendance spoke in defense of the teacher, calling for more trust in officials and the investigations.
Through tears, raised voices and furious testimonies, community members expressed distrust in the district and asked for more transparency.
“This district has, through its policies and actions or inactions, allowed the public to have distrust of the process,” Jennifer Martin, a mother in the district, said at the meeting.
How has the school district responded?
At the school board meeting, Michael Hillman, the district’s director of safety and security, said Rockwall ISD stores footage until the cameras’ storage reaches capacity, usually 30-40 days. When the storage is full, the system automatically overwrites the oldest video footage, Hillman said.
“Any allegation that anyone associated with Rockwall ISD deleted any video and intentionally withheld or destroyed evidence requested by a subpoena would not be true,” Hillman said at the board meeting Aug. 14.
Joey Byrum, the chief human resources officer for the district, told parents and the school board on Wednesday that the teacher did not return to the classroom until April 2, after “independent, thorough investigations” found the allegations were not supported by evidence.
“Due to employee privacy rights, the district could not notify the parents that the teacher had returned from administrative leave,” Byrum said.
The school district maintains it complied fully with the investigations, including with laws regarding subpoenas and court orders.
“At the time the employee was placed on administrative leave, the district had immediately referred the matter to the appropriate authorities,” the district said in a news release. “Because four independent investigations determined the allegations were not supported by the evidence … it was reasonable to conclude the alleged abuse or neglect did not occur.”
Breaking news reporter Aria Jones contributed to this report.
