Zachary Artho: Plainview school board denies grievance regarding firing of junior high coach

May 15-A number of students and parents sat in silence as Derrick Bethany and his counsel approached to address the Plainview school board during a May 7 special called meeting.

The meeting only had one item in open session-the deliberation regarding the grievance by Bethany about his termination. The school board voted 6-0 against Bethany. Board member JoAnn Rey was not present.

Bethany and his representatives with the Lubbock Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, were not surprised by the decision and plan to escalate the issue to the Texas Education Agency, or TEA, with the intent to get the organization to investigate the school board.

Before speaking to the school board, Bethany turned to the audience.

"I would like to apologize to the family for what I said. I was wrong, I was dead wrong. I apologize, should have never been said," he said.

The former junior high coach and at-will employee was terminated Nov. 11 for what Superintendent H.T Sanchez described as "making inappropriate, sexualized comments directed towards a 15-year-old female student." During the meeting, he played audio from the incident, which took place Nov. 10, while Bethany was observing an In School Suspension, or ISS, class.

"You look like a suspect (student)," Bethany said in the audio recording addressing the student. "A suspect, you know what that means? You look like you're up to no good. Ain't on no videos or nothing, not watching no little kiddie porn?"

After the comment, Bethany said, "You're in ISS, I'm going to give you a hard time," according to a written statement submitted by the student the following day.

"I don't know if that was supposed to be a joke, but it was very weird and embarrassing for me," the student wrote in their statement.

The student's parent filed a formal complaint the day after the incident on Nov. 11,stating the comment was "sexualized, defamatory, and wholly inappropriate to direct at a minor. It created an immediate hostile and humiliating educational environment for my daughter."

The parent also demanded, among other things, immediate protective measures for their daughter and a documented investigation under the district's procedures under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs.

Bethany was terminated later that day. He is also currently under investigation by the TEA.

Several grievances had been heard by the board in closed sessions in recent months. Bethany's was requested to be heard in open session.

The meeting was held in the style of a hearing. Bethany and his representatives, Phyllis Gant, chair of the Lubbock Chapter NAACP Legal Redress Committee, and Darrell Ellison, legal redress administrator for the Lubbock Chapter of the NAACP, addressed the counsel for 15 minutes, then Sanchez, representing Plainview ISD, addressed the school board. Any time left over could be used at the end.

"It doesn't take away from how the student may have felt, but I do know there was no ill intent," Ellison said, noting that this was mentioned through every step of the grievance process. He also said that Bethany was honest and took accountability multiple times for what was said and the student was not unsafe.

Another argument that was brought up by Bethany's team was that there was a rush in judgement and inconsistencies with the application of school policies with other employees compared to Bethany. According to the district's attorney, an at-will employee can be fired for any reason unless it is discriminatory. It does not have to be approved by the board.

Sanchez said this wasn't the first time Bethany had been warned. A separate incident occurred in Nov. 2024 which he referenced as Bethany's "first chance," to show that the school had not acted irrationally. A video without audio of this incident was played during the meeting.

The video shows Bethany leading an ISS class when a student became disruptive. The student approached Bethany and argued with him before grabbing his backpack and walking out of the classroom. He made a comment as he left causing Bethany to follow him into the hall. A teacher statement submitted later noted the two were "arguing loudly." The video continued, showing a female student stepping between them as they walk down the hallway. Sanchez emphasized a point in the video where "Mr. Bethany very aggressively slaps his (own) hands." They continued down the hall out of frame as a teacher exited a classroom heading towards them.

Sanchez referenced a policy in the Plainview Independent School District Employee Handbook as well as several documents Bethany signed stating he would maintain appropriate professional educator-student relationships and boundaries.

"Please reflect there was a first chance given," said Sanchez, making reference to the video during closing statements. "We believe in second chances, but that second chance was violated and we cannot and should not risk a third chance."

Bethany offered context to the video, alleging that the student in the video called him an anti-Black slur several times. "That's why I got pissed off. Then as I'm coming out, that was his sister that was in the hallway that came up behind us. She said the exact same thing and then she stated, 'Man, my family's going to kill you.'"

He then said the way he responded was probably wrong, but "I don't do that, the N-word thing."

During closing statements, Bethany's counsel said the information they were given was contrary to what was presented during that day's hearing.

"We came here today as a formality. I have enough experience to know your decisions are already made. Just as TEA is investigating Mr. Bethany, we're going to make sure that TEA launches a formal investigation on this school board because we have documentation of other educators who should have been terminated, and as we stand here tonight and sit here tonight, those people have their jobs," Gant said.

This is not the first time Bethany's grievance has been heard. The grievance has reached Level 3, the final step in the district's local complaint process, where the matter is appealed to the school board. Earlier levels typically involve review by a campus principal and then the superintendent or a designee, according to the TEA.

Gant later said that the NAACP has been involved with investigations regarding PISD. She mentioned the organization's involvement in an investigation in May 2023.

NAACP also represented a Black teacher in Jan. 2025, who was terminated by PISD for alleged sexual misconduct.

It was stated by the board that Bethany had nine character reference letters. During citizen comments, two individuals came forward to speak positively about Bethany's work and character.

The parents of the student involved with the audio grievance also came forward during citizen comments, sharing their belief that he needs to be held accountable.

"There are professional and ethical boundaries when it comes to how adults speak to students," one parent said.

Due to the board's decision, Bethany and his NAACP representatives plan to take the issue to TEA.

"There are several things, and of course we didn't rehash what's going on, this binder is full of issues, both included and excluded," Ellison said, adding that they were told to limit discussion to what was presented in the binder, but the district did not follow that rule.

"We are going to take this to the limit, because it wasn't handled correctly, and there's more than this as a potential problem as well," he said.

When asked after the meeting for comment, Sanchez said, "Our position is fairly clear that there was a violation of the educator code of ethics, multiple violations." He also stated that Bethany had been given a second chance.

When asked about the issue being brought up to the TEA, Sanchez said, "We feel that we did the right thing, and there's always a differentiation between the right thing and easy thing, and the right thing, you have to fight for it. We believe that as good a man as Mr. Bethany may to students there were two breaches of trust, and that's two too many."

When asked about what was shown and included during the presentation he said, "He (Bethany) has access to all that information, all the documents that were reviewed are part of his record."

A recording of the meeting is available on the District'sYouTube channel.

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