Barrientos v. Ysleta Independent School District

In Barrientos v. Ysleta Independent School District, 881 S.W.2d 159 (Tex.App.--El Paso 1994, no writ), a teacher was reassigned from a second grade level to a sixth grade level. 881 S.W.2d at 160. Barrientos sued, alleging she was transferred for retaliatory reasons. Id. YISD argued that Barrientos was required to exhaust all administrative remedies under Section 11.13 of the Texas Education Code, the predecessor of Section 7.057. Id. Section 11.13 provided a comprehensive administrative appeal process for "persons having any matter of dispute among them arising under the school laws of Texas." Id. The Court stated that "when a teacher is being terminated, questions of fact are involved and must be appealed to administrative authorities before the teacher resorts to the courts." Id. The Court decided that Barrientos's allegations raised questions of fact, such as the reasonableness of the principal's decision to reassign her to the sixth grade and whether the principal had any retaliatory motive in making the reassignment. Id. The Court concluded that since Barrientos had not shown any of the exceptions to exhausting administrative remedies applied and since she had not exhausted administrative remedies, the trial court did not have jurisdiction over her claims. Id. at 161.