Dawg Bones

T.E.A. takes up a cheerleader dispute….

Three things stand out about the Commissioner’s decision in Parents v. Cuero ISD. 

  1.  A cheerleading dispute can get to the Commissioner’s office. These parents alleged that their daughter was denied Equal Educational Opportunity as required by T.E.C. 1.002.  The decision notes that this statute applies to all school activities, including cheerleading. So the Commissioner took jurisdiction of this dispute.
  2. Complaining parties cannot bring something up at T.E.A if they failed to bring it up at the school board level.  The parents made several arguments when they presented their complaint to the Cuero ISD board, but they did not allege racial discrimination.  They attempted to raise that issue with the Commissioner who held that since “Petitioners failed to raise this argument before the school board, they cannot make it before the Commissioner.”
  3. “Substantial evidence” is not substantial. The Commissioner will affirm a school board’s decision on a case like this if there is “substantial evidence” in the record that would support that decision. The word “substantial” is misleading.  The Commissioner notes that “substantial” evidence has to be “more than a scintilla” but what the heck is a “scintilla” anyway? 

The decision informs us that “the substantial evidence standard is the lowest standard for determining factual sufficiency.”  A ruling in favor of the district does not mean that the Commissioner agrees with it, or thinks it was the right decision. It just means that there was some factual basis in the record to support it.

I found it interesting that one of the complaints in this case was that the district reduced the number of cheerleaders from 16 to 12.  This strikes the Dawg as inherently risky. I once heard a wise school administrator express his school’s policy on the matter which was:

DO YOU WANT TO BE A CHEERLEADER?  YES?  THEN YOU ARE A CHEERLEADER!

They rejected no one.  Less chance of a legal challenge with that policy, I’m just sayin’…..

The Commissioner decided this one on February 1, 2023. It’s Docket No. 042-R10-06-2022.

DAWG BONE: WE CONTINUE TO HUNT FOR SCINTILLAS—A SMALL FUR BEARING MAMMAL COMMON TO CENTRAL TEXAS.

Got a question or comment for the Dawg?  Let me hear from you at jwalsh@wabsa.com. 

Tomorrow: From scintillas to mama bears….