Analysis of Qualified Immunity for Texas Public School Professional Employees as Interpreted by the Texas Courts Page: 74
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man hold" was used to restrain her. School personnel called Mrs. Doe to let her know that Jane
Doe had to be wrapped. Mrs. Doe did not object. Mrs. Doe claimed that the two-person hold
was used even though Jane Doe said that her arm hurt. The school personnel agreed that Jane
said her arm hurt but that any pain was caused by her resistance and was part of the reason they
decided to wrap her. This time, Jane Doe was wrapped with tape and taped to a cot since she had
apparently bumped her head on a wall. Mrs. Doe removed Jane Doe from school until mid May,
1999 and filed suit on September 8, 1999 against S&S CISD, superintendent Joe Wardell, and
principal Missy Imbert. Mrs. Doe's assertion was that excessive force in discipline was used.
The school district filed a motion for summary judgment based on sovereign immunity. Wardell
and Imbert filed a similar motion based on immunity granted under Section 22.051 of the Texas
Education Code. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants and Mrs. Doe
appealed.
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas upheld the trial court's
ruling, stating that there was no real fact issue about discipline as there was no fact issue about
punishment in this case. Hopkins v. Spring Independent School District (1987) was cited for the
definition of discipline: "Discipline in the school context describes some form of punishment"
(Doe v. S&S CISD, 2001, p. *64). As such, this court determined that the use of physical force
in restraining Jane Doe was not punishment. Therefore, Jane had not been disciplined.
There are two cases is which public school employees were granted immunity through
different means, after filing for summary judgment based on Section 21.912 and then Section
22.051 of the Texas Education Code. The first of these cases is Newman v. Obersteller (1997).
Kurt Obersteller was a former student at Flour Bluff High School in Flour Bluff Independent
School District. During the 1992 - 1993 school year, Obersteller participated in athletics under74
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Carman, John Nathaniel. Analysis of Qualified Immunity for Texas Public School Professional Employees as Interpreted by the Texas Courts, dissertation, May 2009; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc9857/m1/80/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .