HISD terminates contract of teacher, union leader despite state's recommendation to reinstate her

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston Independent School District has terminated a longtime teacher and union leader despite a state-appointed hearing examiner determining the district did not present sufficient evidence to fire her.

This is the second time the district has sought to fire Michelle Williams, and the second time the state has said it did not provide the evidence to do so.

"After you are battling some people for a long time, you become numb to it, and that's honestly where I am," Michelle Williams said.

Currently a teacher's union president, Williams said she has taught for 26 years. Most recently, she was teaching special education at Ben Brook Elementary School, where she received her second notice of the district's intent to terminate her.

"I was only at work seven days, I had COVID for four of the days, school started on the 12th, so I wasn't there long," Williams said.

According to the district's outside attorney, Ellen Spalding, Williams refused to use the district's new education curriculum as directed.

"If she is not going to use the curriculum with fidelity, then she is not someone who can teach here, and we ask that you make changes to the hearing examiner's recommendations and find cause exists to terminate Ms. Williams term contract," Spalding said at Williams' termination hearing on Thursday.

Williams and her attorney argued at the hearing that she modified it to meet the student's needs, adding that it went against the individual learning plans of some special needs and emerging bilingual students, and therefore violated state law.

"I did what I was supposed to do according to the law, and we proved that overwhelmingly," Williams said.

In a two-day hearing, a state-appointed hearing examiner recommended that Williams be reinstated, saying the district did not provide credible evidence to support its case.

In the end, the HISD board of managers voted to amend the hearing examiners' findings, which Spaulding said they have the power to do, and voted unanimously to terminate Williams.

Several community members were in the room when the vote came down and shouted their support for Williams.

ABC13 reached out to the district to ask why they decided to terminate Williams despite the examiner's recommendation to reinstate her, but the district did not respond.

In Thursday's hearing, Spalding claimed the hearing examiner omitted an email from their findings in which Williams said she refused to use the curriculum. Williams again said she did not refuse to use the curriculum, but said she would modify it to fit student needs.

Williams said her legal team will continue pursuing appeals and other legal options.