Cy-Fair ISD teacher accused of pushing special needs student, family seeking legal counsel
HOUSTON - A substitute teacher in the Cy-Fair Independent School District (ISD) has been terminated following allegations of mistreatment towards a special needs student.
The incident, which occurred in February and was captured on video, has sparked outrage from the family and their attorney, prompting calls for accountability from the district.
Video footage from Feb. 6 at Duryea Elementary School shows 10-year-old Destyn Dural in a tutoring session with the substitute teacher.
CRIME: Harris County suspect identified, charged with Capital Murder for 12-year-old's death
According to Destyn, he was tapping his pencil on the table when the teacher allegedly threatened him, saying, "You want to get pushed out of the chair?" Despite his protests, Destyn claims he was pushed to the ground, hitting his head on a nearby chair.
"The principal and the assistant principal, they tried to go with a narrative and wanted us to believe that it didn't happen," said his father Desmond Dural. "They didn't acknowledge what we saw on the video."
Destyn's mother tells FOX 26 in the initial video offered to her, she couldn't see her son falling. She decided to visit the campus to record the video herself from her cell phone after Destyn said he watched it at school. A different angle shows the boy going towards the ground. The child also says this isn't the first time the same teacher has assaulted him.
"He's doing fine, he just doesn't want to be back here. He's cried not to come to school," says Trerosilyn Carston.
Destyn has a learning disability, a speech impediment, and a neurological disorder affecting his brain. A shunt has been placed between his neck and chest to drain the fluids from his head - a condition that existed before these reported incidents with the teacher.
"You do not violently push a child where he bumped his head actually on a chair. And this is a child that has this type of condition," said activist Candice Matthews. "CyFair ISD is going to keep their hands off of our kids. Whoever else that's involved with this, I'm coming after your job."
Attorney Jimmie L.J. Brown, Jr. echoed these sentiments, stating that the teacher's actions could result in civil and potentially criminal liability.
"The detective (Cy-Fair ISD)'s statement was he saw the video and saw nothing," said Brown. The attorney has filed a Level I Grievance on the detective as well as the school. Per Texas Education Policy, the school will have 10 days to respond with a written statement.
In response to the incident, the Cy-Fair ISD issued a statement:
After learning about the incident, the substitute teacher was immediately removed from working with the student, the campus began investigating, and the parents were notified. The individual is no longer a substitute teacher in the district. Additionally, the district has just been made aware of the allegations regarding the three teachers, and is investigating.