BUDA — After discovering that her son’s former teacher was arrested for public intoxication, Christina Nichols was left wishing Hays CISD did more to protect future students.
Nichols’ son was always a student who loved school. According to the mother, she couldn’t keep him in her arms on his very first day, as he would run toward the doors with anticipation and excitement. As an educator herself, this is all she could have ever wanted for her then 7-year-old. Then, he began second grade at Buda Elementary School in 2022.
“He didn’t want to go to school,” said Nichols. “Me and my husband sat him down and told him the traditional, ‘Hey, buddy, you’re not always going to like all your teachers. You still have to go to school.’”
She stated that her son constantly claimed that his teacher, Laura Russian, a nearly two-decade educator with Hays CISD, was mean, or strict, according to Nichols: “She probably just tells him to stay in his seat,” the mother thought to herself.
It was October 2022 when Nichols, a member of the Parent Teacher Association, asked Russian to keep her child inside instead of sending him to carpool, since she was going to be decorating inside for an event. So, when Russian messaged her later that day, she didn’t think anything of it.
“She sends me a text with [my son] and he has his mouth taped shut,” recalled Nichols.
According to the mother, her son recently received an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis: “I think my first thought was, ‘This has to be a joke’ … I figured in my brain that she taped his mouth shut as punishment.”
“So, I head up to the school and I parked my car and I go in and [my son] is standing in the office,” Nichols said. “I don’t remember who, but someone in the office, they used the word ‘escorted’ and that caught my attention. Someone said, ‘Oh, his teacher isn’t here. She was escorted out.’ And that word means a lot in education because, usually, when you’re fired, you’re not allowed to get your belongings or anything; you’re escorted off property.”
Nichols stated that she had initially thought that the district had found out about the photo, but as she navigated the school building, she ran into “three men in suits” informing PTA members that Russian’s classroom was off limits for evidence. After she questioned her son — who described his teacher as acting weird, with strange eyes — she stated that she realized that the teacher was most likely inebriated.
“I couldn’t figure out [why she would send that photo]. Like, if you’re abusing my kid, why are you telling me about it … Now, I know she was drunk, so there was no thought process,” said the mother.
She claims that she set up meetings with the district, all of which failed to inform her of what happened, due to privacy reasons. The district only stated that the teacher was not to return and instead, Nichols found out through a note sent home that Russian would be replaced with a beloved substitute.
Days after her resignation, which, according to Hays CISD, occurred Oct. 21, 2022, Russian sent out a mass email Oct. 27, 2022, to parents stating that she “wanted to touch base with you one last time and let you know why I will not be returning to Buda [Elementary School],” citing personal reasons.
“I called the school and I flipped out. I was like, ‘Why does this person still have all of our information, our addresses, everything and [the school staff] were like, ‘Oh, sorry. Big mistake. We’ll take care of it right now,’” said Nichols.
“[My son’s] been in therapy ever since,” she said, adding that there are several other parents who claim their children have experienced abuse, as well.
Although Russian’s “file lists her as not recommended to rehire,” she was never fired, , according to the district.
Two years later, in February 2025, Nichols discovered that Russian had been arrested for public intoxication at Doral Academy of Texas in Buda.
Court documents reveal that Hays County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched to Doral Academy Feb. 12, following staff members becoming aware of a teacher exhibiting behaviors as though she was intoxicated in her special education classroom. Upon arrival, deputies discovered that Russian had been drinking out of a blue cup, emanating alcoholic smells, which a child had knocked over.
“[Russian] claimed ownership of the blue Yeti cup and stated that she had been drinking out of it during the day while she was working in her class. She stated that the contents of the Yeti cup were ‘Bullet’ whiskey and water,” said the affidavit.
An email obtained by the Hays Free Press, disclosed that Doral Academy of Texas Interim Superintendent Courtney Oliver stated the following: “I am writing to inform you of an important change within our school community. Laura Russian, a former member of our staff, will not be returning to campus. At Doral Academy of Texas, we hold our faculty and staff to the highest standards of values and morals. We are dedicated to upholding these principles to ensure the well-being of our students.”
Russian pleaded “Nolo Contendere,” meaning that the defendant accepts the consequences without admitting guilt, and was given a guilty judgement for public intoxication Feb. 20.
“Not only did this happen again, but she was working with life students in a non-verbal classroom … I should have spoke up two years ago. What if all these kids have been abused,” asked Nichols. “She could already be teaching again. She already could be working at any of our childcare’s schools as long as it’s not Hays [CISD] or Doral Academy. She could literally be in any classroom, right now, drunk.”
“I just want to know when is the school district going to be held accountable because this could have been handled two years ago. If she had been correctly terminated, that would have been on her record and then, employers have to ask; there’s red flags.”
Because she wasn’t terminated, Nichols continued, Russian can omit Hays CISD from her resume, without question.
According to the Texas Education Agency Official Record of Educator Certificates, Russian still holds two certifications, one for early childhood education and “elementary self-contained” until Oct. 31, 2025, but is “currently under review by the TEA Educator Investigations Division.” The website states that, “This notation on an educator's certificate means that an allegation of misconduct is currently being investigated by Texas Education Agency staff. A certificate with this notation remains valid because no formal determination has been made.”
“[My son’s] love for school is completely gone. We don’t run [toward the school] anymore and that’s the part that makes me want to cry … I didn’t believe [his outcries]. I mean, I believed him, but I didn’t think — I didn’t know my child was being hurt … No one [else at Hays CISD or Doral Academy] was even given a chance to know,” concluded Nichols.
Hays CISD provided no further comment after seeking advice from legal counsel.
Doral Academy of Texas did not respond to a request for comment.
