If your school ignores the law

Most removals that fail, fail at the first step: the teacher asks. Here's how to make a removal stick, and what to do, in order, if your school still ignores it.

First: remove, don't ask

"Can you take him out of my class?" gives your principal a question to say no to. The law doesn't. It says "a teacher may remove from class a student" who repeatedly interferes with learning, is unruly, disruptive, or abusive toward a person, or bullies (§37.002(b)). The removal is yours. Your principal's part is deciding where the student goes.

• Put it in writing, the same day. A dated email that says "I am removing" the student under Section 37.002(b), why, and that you don't consent to the student's return.
• The student stays out until the conference. It must be scheduled by the third class day, and the student "may not be returned to the regular classroom pending the conference" (§37.009(a)).
• After that, the student comes back only with your written consent, or after the committee decides your class is the best or only option, the conference is held, and a written return plan exists (§37.002(c)).

Write your removal notice or, for a threat or violence, the required-removal notice.

If it's a threat or violence

Some conduct isn't your choice to make. For conduct listed in Sections 37.006 and 37.007, the teacher "shall remove from class and send to the principal" the student (§37.002(d)). That list includes:

• conduct involving a public school that contains the elements of a terroristic threat or a false alarm (§37.006(a)(1));
• harassment or retaliation against any school employee, on or off campus (§37.006(b));
• an assault that injures a school employee (§37.007(a)(4)), and weapons, serious drug offenses, and other felonies.

You don't have to decide whether it legally counts as a crime. Report it to an administrator today, in writing, and say it may be a removal the law requires.

• Ask for a threat assessment. Every campus must have a threat assessment team that assesses "individuals who make threats of violence or exhibit harmful, threatening, or violent behavior" (§37.115(f)). Ask for one in writing. Write the request.
• Report a crime to police if you believe one happened. That's your right, separate from anything the school does.
• If anyone is in danger right now, follow your campus emergency procedures and call 911.

If they still ignore it: step by step

Go in order, and keep every step in writing. Each step below has a letter ready to fill in.

1. Your principal says no. Send a calm reply that quotes the law: you removed the student under §37.002(b), the student may not return before the conference (§37.009(a)), and the return needs your consent or the steps in §37.002(c).
2. No answer at all. Send a short "please confirm you received my notice" email, with the conference deadline in it.
3. The student is sent back before the conference. Say in writing that §37.009(a) doesn't allow it and that you don't consent.
4. The third class day passes with no conference. Send the late-conference letter with the date the deadline fell.
5. Still ignored? Write to the superintendent. Report what happened as a violation of Chapter 37. A good-faith report of a Chapter 37 violation is protected. You can't be fired, suspended, or not renewed for it, and it can't be used against your certificate (§22.05121).
6. File a grievance. Every district has an employee complaint policy, usually numbered DGBA. It moves up in levels, from the campus to the superintendent to the school board. Deadlines are short, often 15 days from when you knew about the problem, so check yours right away. Most districts' policies forbid retaliation for filing.
7. Complain to the Texas Education Agency. If it isn't resolved locally and you believe a state law was violated, you can file a complaint with TEA. TEA asks that you try the local process first.
8. Report coercion. If an administrator pressures you to take the student back, the Educators' Code of Ethics says an educator "shall not use coercive means ... to influence professional decisions or colleagues" (19 TAC §247.2, Standard 2.6). Complaints go to the State Board for Educator Certification.
9. Talk to a lawyer who handles employment or education cases. See "Finding help" below.

If you're told to take the student back

Say in writing, right away, that you don't consent and why, quoting the law. Refusing a direct instruction can be treated as insubordination, so get advice before you refuse outright. If you or your students are in danger, follow your campus safety procedures first. The paperwork can wait.

Protect yourself while it plays out

• Leave. You can use your personal and sick leave. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act may give you up to 12 weeks if you're eligible.
• If you're pregnant. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers with 15 or more employees, including school districts, to make reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, like a temporary reassignment or leave, unless it causes undue hardship. Ask in writing, with your doctor's note. Your employer can't retaliate against you for asking. What the law covers
• Assault leave covers physical assault, not threats. A school employee who is physically assaulted on the job gets paid leave to recover from the injuries, for up to two years, without using personal leave (§22.003(b)). A threat alone doesn't qualify.
• Keep everything. Police reports, doctor's notes, emails, and your own notes, with dates.

Before you resign

Some teachers in this spot quit. If you're thinking about it, know the rules first, because leaving mid-year can put your certificate at risk.

• Without penalty: at the end of the school year, with a written resignation filed at least 45 days before the first day of instruction of the next year (§21.105, §21.160, §21.210).
• Mid-year: only "with the consent of the board of trustees or the board's designee." Ask for it in writing. A written release protects you.
• Without consent: the district can file a complaint with the State Board for Educator Certification. It must tell you if it does. The board's usual minimum for leaving mid-year is a one-year suspension of your certificate.
• But the board must weigh your reasons. Its rules count "serious illness or health condition of the educator ... as evidenced by documentation from a licensed medical provider" as good cause. They also count resigning "due to working conditions that reasonably posed an immediate threat of significant physical harm to the educator" as a mitigating factor. The board can decide those reasons are enough to take no action at all (19 TAC §249.17(d)).

Finding help

• Lawyers. Education lawyers may turn you down. Employment lawyers handle many of the same problems. The State Bar of Texas runs a lawyer referral service.
• Professional associations offer legal help to members. Most help only with problems that start after you join, so look into one before you need it.

General information about Texas law, not legal advice. For your own situation, talk to a Texas attorney.

Sources

• Texas Education Code, Chapter 37: Sections 37.002, 37.006, 37.007, 37.009, and 37.115
• Texas Education Code, Chapter 21: Sections 21.105, 21.160, and 21.210, resignation
• Texas Education Code, Chapter 22: Section 22.003(b), assault leave, and Section 22.05121
• 19 TAC §249.17, as amended by the State Board for Educator Certification in 2026: good cause and mitigating factors for contract abandonment
• 19 TAC §247.2, Educators' Code of Ethics
• Texas Education Agency, complaints
• U.S. EEOC, Pregnant Workers Fairness Act