State education commissioner found termination evidence was riddled with errors
A veteran Houston teacher alleges she was fired for blowing the whistle on testing problems and racial discrimination.
The federal lawsuit, filed September 15, 2026, in the Southern District of Texas, names Houston Independent School District and six officials as defendants. The teacher - an African-American woman with 26 years in Texas public education - taught eighth-grade mathematics and Algebra I at Patrick Henry Middle School.
According to the complaint, things started to unravel in late April 2025. The teacher reported STAAR calculator and testing irregularities to her then-principal, providing photographs to document the issue.
Within weeks, the concerns escalated. On May 20, 2025, the filing states the teacher raised testing and retaliation concerns directly with a North Division chief. A week later, the Houston Education Association sent a formal complaint to HISD leadership on behalf of Patrick Henry staff. That complaint, according to the filing, identified testing irregularities, "discriminatory practices, retaliation, harassment, bullying, and a hostile work environment."
It also flagged what the filing describes as unequal workloads between African-American and non-African-American employees and a racially offensive incident involving "Nigger Bucks." The teacher's SPOT observation scores, the complaint alleges, were intentionally lowered. A colleague later reported hearing an...
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