Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Hays CISD parent Robert Lowe raised concerns for other students in the district, following what he claims are inaccurate assault charges filed against his 11-year-old son.
According to Lowe, there have been multiple instances of differing opinions between Science Hall Elementary School (SHES) administrative staff and himself for several years. The father stated that his son was a victim of bullying, which staff members never addressed.
Additionally, Lowe explained that he was once told that his son threw a chair. After questioning and requesting to view video footage, he alleged administrative staff corrected themselves and clarified that his son only forcefully pushed a chair after another student shoved his papers off the desk numerous times. It was after this that the father began investigating allegations against his son more thoroughly: “Every time they would call me, I would push back and insist on finding out what happened leading up to it. So, instead of calling me, they quit calling me and started racking up referrals [against my son].”
These referrals were often targeted only toward his son, claimed Lowe, despite other students participating in the same activities.
Most recently, Lowe’s son was in detention May 14 when he began making fake gagging noises, explained the father. Because of this, he was placed on suicide watch and given a mental health evaluation by SHES counselor Stephanie Wick without either parents’ notification. Lowe explained that his son’s mother was extremely upset, as was he, when she found out and “went off about it.”
The next day, the 11-year-old was in the school pickup line when, according to a video obtained by the Hays Free Press, he collided with Wick, knocking a water bottle out of her hands. The following morning, Lowe’s son was allegedly questioned for hours without his parents and then, charged with assault after a school resource officer (SRO) reviewed the footage, said the father.
Lowe stated that he immediately began asking to view security footage of the incident, as his son maintained his innocence, but the district refused to share it.
The family later received a mandatory Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) placement letter, which attributed the consequence to assault charge. The Texas Education Agency states that DAEP’s “serve as alternative education settings for students temporarily removed for disciplinary purposes from their regular instructional settings.”
The father shared that the original sentence was 30 days, but, after an appeal, it was lessened to 10.
“I told [the SHES principal], ‘Let’s go in the hallway right now and let me try to walk into you, while you’re paying attention to me. It doesn’t work,’” explained Lowe. “So, they knocked it down from 30 days to 10 days in that first meeting. I filed the second level appeal, which went to [Hays CISD director of Student Services] Brian Dawson and that’s when the freaking lies started. They took what the counselor told the SRO and they documented that I said what Wick said.”
Lowe then reached out to district administrative staff in an effort to correct the documents, to which he was told staff is “not able to revise Dr. Dawson’s letter,” as he was currently absent, he said.
When he finally received his son’s official charge, it was for assault by contact under Texas Penal Code 22.01(a)(3) — a class C misdemeanor — though, the DAEP letter stated that his son was mandated to go through the program, since he was charged with assault by bodily contact 22.01(a)(1), a class A misdemeanor.
“Furthermore, pursuant to the Texas Education Code §37.006 and the Texas Administrative Code (TEA Commissioner’s Rules), placement in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) is mandatory when a student is formally charged with certain felony or criminal offenses, and is not subject to local discretion,” said deputy academic officer Mary Noble.
According to the Texas Education Code, the only assault charge that explicitly requires the district to place a student in DAEP is assault by bodily contact 22.01(a)(1), which is not what records show his son was charged with.
This discrepancy was presented to several district leaders.
“The charge in Luke’s case Assault by Contact under § 22.01(a)(3), Texas Penal Code does not meet the statutory criteria for mandatory DAEP placement. This raises serious concerns about whether the decision was based on a misunderstanding of the law or a deliberate misapplication of policy,” wrote Lowe in an email to Hays CISD Superintendent Dr. Eric Wright, chief safety & security officer Jeri Skrocki and Noble. “The TEA website says to attempt to solve issues at the district level first, so I am trying again to a reduced audience before escalating further.”
In response, Skrocki stated that he may continue with a formal complaint to TEA, if he wishes to do so.
Additionally, in a recorded phone call to Wright, Lowe asked how the district will address the issues that occurred throughout the process.
Lowe: “There are issues within your district that you have control and power to act on and the information in which to do so and if inaction is the answer, that’s fine … I can’t push any harder than I am, but the situation remains … I’ve got the evidence to prove that my child was targeted by your staff and I’m asking you if you are going to do anything to correct that.”
Wright: “I’m not because we didn’t do anything wrong, sir.”
Instead of what Lowe believes would have rectified the situation, the district refused to reverse its decision and placed his son with “violent offenders” at the Impact Center, which he claimed includes students who have brought weapons and drugs to school.
The student ended up serving seven out of the previously allotted 10 days, due to good behavior.
Ultimately, Lowe believes that his son was the victim of retaliation, due to his constant investigations into SHES’s allegations toward his son.
“The assault charges [should] have never been filed. These people are professional law enforcement officers and I don’t think it takes years of experience to know that there’s no assault there, especially when you’re talking about an area, where there’s tons of students [and] people are moving in opposite directions; it was an incidental contact,” said Lowe.
In Hays Free Press’ request for comment, Hays CISD Chief Communication Officer Tim Savoy stated the following: “District disciplinary responses to various circumstances are explained in detail in the district’s online policy manual at www.hayscisd.net/policy and in the parent student handbook at www.hayscisd.net/handbook. The district is not a component of the state’s justice system and has no authority to bring charges associated with violating laws. Charges against individuals in Texas are handled through the appropriate law enforcement or court systems.”
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The four-month back-and-forth with the district that Lowe and his family have had to endure placed strain on his relationship with the child’s mother, as well as lapsed trust between him and his son.
“In the summer, one of the toughest things was one or twice a week, [he would ask], ‘Dad, do you think I’m going to jail,’” recalled Lowe. “I’m [also] having to interrogate my 11 year old … because I hadn’t seen the video yet. I had no idea, except for what my son was telling me, versus what 10 other adults were telling me.”
Upon reviewing the once-encrypted security footage, Lowe took to the courthouse to submit evidence, where the chief prosecutor filed for dismissal Sept. 2. Despite this win for his son, Lowe stated that the prosecutor neglected to “apply the same accountability to the adult” involved in the situation.
“They lied about it from the very beginning; they had one goal and I don’t understand why it was their goal. Do they get more money if they put kids in Impact? What was the benefit to the district,” the father asked. “Those people have no business around kids … I believe this warrants a candid conversation to ensure district procedures align with both TEC and the Texas Penal Code, and to prevent similar errors in the future.”
“Their failure to do their jobs is not our burden to carry. My son has spent the entire summer in limbo because of their inability, or unwillingness, to act responsibly. These are the people entrusted to act in his best interest? It’s appalling … If it were up to me, that district would have never [seen] his red hair again,” concluded Lowe.
