Federal judge dismisses parent’s lawsuit against Keller ISD, calling it ‘frivolous’
A parent who alleged that the Keller school district violated the Voting Rights Act and 14th and 15th amendments of the Constitution by failing to utilize single-member districts or a cumulative voting system for electing school board members, thus preventing Hispanic voters from electing a candidate of their choice, lost his legal battle in a Fort Worth federal court last week.
On Jan. 15, U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas ruled that Claudio Vallejo’s lawsuit against the Keller school district was “baseless” and “frivolous” because he failed to prove that he was harmed by the district having an at-large voting system where trustees are elected district wide.
O’Connor also ordered Vallejo to pay attorney’s fees and to explain by Feb. 5 why he and his legal counsel should not be “sanctioned.”
O’Connor stated in his ruling that Vallejo failed to provide factual evidence that the Keller school district’s at-large system for electing school board members diluted Hispanic voting opportunities.
“We respect Judge O’Connor and the Court; however, we strongly disagree with the decision,” William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer Storefront and an attorney representing Vallejo said in an emailed statement Tuesday afternoon.
“Keller ISD serves a diverse community, yet its all white school board oversees outcomes that disproportionately disadvantage students of color,” Brewer said in the statement.
Brewer said his client plans to appeal O’Connor’s ruling “in pursuit of an outcome that is beneficial to the district, its students, and its schools.”
Vallejo, who has two children in the Keller school district, filed suit shortly after the news broke last year that several trustees had a plan to split the Keller school district along socio-economic lines along U.S. 377, the border between Keller and Fort Worth.
The lawsuit alleged that splitting the school district indicated an intent to discriminate.
The suit also alleged that the Keller school district’s at-large voting system dilutes votes from “a significant” number of Hispanic citizens, and that white voters are able to block Hispanic voters from electing candidates of their choosing. However, OConnor stated in his ruling that Vallejo did not provide facts supporting his claims.
The ruling states that the lawsuit didn’t show that Vallejo was discriminated against or harmed by the at-large voting system.
O’Connor also pointed out that the school board abandoned its plan to split the school district.
This story was originally published January 20, 2026 at 6:31 PM.
