Good.
Michelle Williams
A teachers union leader filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Tuesday against Houston ISD’s state-appointed board and superintendent, as well as several district administrators and Lake Worth ISD’s new superintendent, after the district terminated her.
The Houston Education Association president, Michelle Williams, filed a civil rights action under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Texas Whistleblower Act after what the filing described as “institutional retaliation against a veteran educator and union president who reported violations of state and federal law to appropriate authorities beginning in August 2024”.
Williams is asking for reinstatement, back pay, and compensatory and punitive damages, among other requests.
The 26-year teaching veteran — who is running for the Texas Legislature — is also fighting for her job with the Texas Education Agency, where she’s petitioned the commissioner to reverse the board’s April decision to terminate her.
The board rejected an independent hearing examiner’s recommendation to reinstate Williams and instead adopted HISD’s proposal to reverse the hearing examiner’s findings, according to the petition to the commissioner.
It was the second time HISD sought to remove Williams. She was dismissed in March 2024 from her role as a third-grade math teacher, in part, over her social media activity. Williams was reinstated after a two-day virtual hearing.
See here for the background. Federal lawsuits take a long time to get through the system, and I don’t know how much faith I have in the TEA’s appeals process, so it may be awhile before there’s a resolution. That said, given that the independent examiner appointed by the TEA sided with her, maybe the TEA will listen to that. She deserved better from the appointed Board, that’s for sure. Oh, and the connection to Lake Worth ISD is that its newly-appointed Superintendent is a former Mike Miles lieutenant who testified against Williams during the Board’s hearing. Best of luck to you, Michelle Williams.