Background
Laura McClelland was working as a teacher for Weatherford Independent School District when a student assaulted her in November 2022. She began taking intermittent assault leave under Texas Education Code section 22.003(b) and later notified the district that she would need continuous leave for surgery related to the assault.
WISD informed McClelland that its policies required her assault leave to run concurrently with leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act and with temporary disability leave. After the district denied her grievance, McClelland appealed to the Commissioner of Education. The Commissioner dismissed the FMLA issue as moot and concluded that concurrently counting assault leave and temporary disability leave did not violate the Education Code. The Travis County district court affirmed the Commissioner’s decision.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifteenth Court of Appeals held that Education Code section 22.003(b) does not prohibit a school district from running assault leave concurrently with temporary disability leave. The statutory phrase making assault leave additional to leave “provided by this section or by the school district” covers the minimum personal leave established by section 22.003 and additional leave supplied by a district. It does not encompass temporary disability leave required by a separate statute.
The court also held that McClelland’s challenge to WISD’s concurrent-use policy for FMLA leave was moot because she was not eligible for FMLA leave when the Commissioner issued his decision. The Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act did not create a live controversy, and the capable-of-repetition-yet-evading-review exception did not apply because McClelland failed to show a reasonable expectation that she personally would face the same action again.
Because the FMLA issue was moot, the court expressly declined to decide whether requiring FMLA leave to run concurrently with assault leave would violate section 22.003(b). It affirmed the district court’s judgment in full.
Key Takeaways
- Texas Education Code section 22.003(b) permits a school district to count assault leave and statutory temporary disability leave concurrently.
- The ruling does not decide whether assault leave may lawfully run concurrently with FMLA leave.
- A policy’s possible application to other employees does not satisfy the capable-of-repetition exception when the plaintiff cannot show a reasonable expectation that the policy will affect her again.
Why It Matters
The decision clarifies that the statutory protection making assault leave additional to certain other leave does not automatically extend to every form of leave required elsewhere in state or federal law. Texas school districts therefore may require assault leave and temporary disability leave to run at the same time without violating section 22.003(b).
The opinion also reinforces that courts will not adjudicate a leave-policy challenge after the employee becomes ineligible for the disputed benefit unless a recognized mootness exception is tied directly to that employee’s own rights and likely future circumstances.