Video of alleged abuse of UISD special education students leads to 3 arrests
May 20-Three former United ISD employees were arrested Wednesday after video evidence allegedly showed abuse of special education students at Nye Elementary School, and the principal reportedly resigned in connection with the incident.
"The district immediately began both a criminal and administrative investigation regarding the specific allegations brought forward by a district parent and took prompt administrative action," UISD said in a statement Thursday. "The district's investigations remain ongoing, and parents are being kept abreast on the status of the investigations. The district continues to cooperate fully with outside agencies regarding this investigation."
The three former employees arrested were a special education teacher and two aides. UISD said all three employees resigned in lieu of termination.
Patricia Lopez was arrested on 10 felony charges of injury to a child, elderly individual or disabled individual with intentional bodily injury. The offense dates for the charges included one on March 17, one on March 30, two on April 8, three on April 9, one on April 10 and two on April 13.
A $35,000 bond was issued for each charge for a total bond of $350,000. Lopez remained in jail as of Wednesday night, according to jail records.
If convicted, Lopez could face two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for each charge.
Laura Sillas was arrested on four felony charges, including three charges of injury to a child, elderly individual or disabled individual with intentional bodily injury and one charge of tampering with a government record, school record, license, seal or permit. The offense dates were March 30 for the injury charges and April 9 for the tampering charge.
Each of the four charges was issued a $35,000 bond for a total bond of $140,000. Sillas remained in jail as of Wednesday night, according to jail records.
According to her listing in Nye Elementary's campus directory, Sillas is a self-contained special education teacher.
Martha Ramirez was arrested on one felony charge of injury to a child, elderly individual or disabled individual with intentional bodily injury with an offense date of March 30. She posted a $35,000 surety bond and was released Wednesday.
This is the first arrest on record for all three suspects.
"We understand the concern this situation has caused for our students, families, staff and community," UISD said. "UISD does not condone or tolerate this type of behavior and takes matters involving student safety and well-being extremely seriously. Additional measures are being implemented to reinforce educator expectations, strengthen accountability, and reassure parents that the safety of our students is and will continue to be our highest priority."
Parents received a letter April 22 from Cynthia Caballero, who was then the principal at Nye Elementary, advising that Sillas was no longer serving the students and updating them on who would be the substitute teacher for the remainder of the year.
Another letter from interim principal Gabriela Perez notified parents of a meeting being held May 6 to address "certain parental concerns" at the campus. Perez said the goal was to provide parents with an update and to outline the steps being taken to ensure student safety and well-being.
"Please be assured that we have taken swift action to address concerns by relieving and removing staff members involved," the letter stated.
Another letter from Perez on May 7, which identified her as campus principal, said the individuals implicated in the investigation were "immediately relieved of their duties and removed from their positions" and that the district immediately involved both law enforcement and Child Protective Services once the concern was brought to its attention.
"What has been reported does not reflect the dedicated work happening across our special education classrooms," Perez said in the letter. "We have seen the level of care, professionalism and commitment our teachers and staff bring to their students and their classrooms firsthand. The conduct of these former employees in no way defines our school district or the many educators who are consistently dedicated to doing what is right for our children."
Perez said UISD Executive Director of Special Education Claudia Dovalina-Guzman is leading a review of procedures and will be "reinforcing expectations and providing additional training and support to staff."
Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee said Wednesday that the Buzbee Law Firm is representing the parents of eight students in special education who were allegedly abused in Nye Elementary's special education program and that there is video evidence of the abuse.
"The allegations involve deeply disturbing conduct toward vulnerable children and include claims of physical abuse, emotional abuse, and other mistreatment," Buzbee said on Facebook. "These allegations are serious and involve children with special needs who deserve protection, dignity, and proper care while attending school. Our firm intends to pursue all appropriate civil legal remedies on behalf of these families."
In a reply to a comment, Buzbee said the video evidence was the reason the three arrests were made Wednesday.
Buzbee - known for representing clients against high-profile defendants such as Sean "Diddy" Combs and Deshaun Watson - said they were told Caballero resigned amid allegations she knew the abuse was occurring but failed to act or report it. Caballero was promoted to principal in 2016 after working for 12 years as an assistant principal at the campus.
"Children with special needs are the most vulnerable in our society. Those who abuse them have no place in the school system," Buzbee said. "We expect the authorities to prosecute those responsible to the full extent of the law, and we expect the school system to determine how such people were ever put in a position to do so. The school system owes these parents answers, accountability, and responsibility. It will be our job to make sure that happens."
Due to the ongoing criminal investigation and the sensitive circumstances regarding the children and their families, Buzbee said clients were advised not to speak publicly. However, another parent from the classroom addressed the UISD Board of Trustees and Superintendent Dr. Gerardo Cruz during a board meeting Wednesday.
Elizabeth Molina said her son attends the classroom at Nye Elementary where the alleged abuse occurred. She asked the school board several questions about the incident.
"What did the board know and when? Texas law requires parent notification to a violent activity and investigations of violent activity," Molina said. "We only received one notice on May 2, two weeks after they were fired. Why were we never notified of the investigation? My children will be in United ISD for 10 more years. What specific changes are you making so this never happens again? Is there going to be an additional supervision for this to not happen again?"
While Molina was permitted to address the issue during public comment, the incident was not part of the meeting's agenda and was not discussed.
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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 11:03 AM.