HOUSTON – Yesterday, the 14th Court of Appeals affirmed a ruling denying a former teacher with the Spring Independent School District unemployment benefits.
During his employment with Spring ISD, Michael Van Deelen, a white man, accused students and a teacher of dealing drugs. His supervisor looked into the allegations, found no merit to them and discovered a pattern – Van Deelen was targeting African Americans with his accusations.
Van Deelen seems to be exhibiting another pattern as well, one that involves suing school districts where he taught.
In 2014, Van Deelen filed a whistleblower suit against his former employer, Klein ISD, claiming emotional distress and negligence.
Van Deelen’s suit alleged Klein Forest High School’s “pervasive discipline problems” extended to “disruptive” students who verbally abused teachers and showed up to school improperly dressed with hoodies and drooping pants.
Three years after suing Klein ISD, Van Deelen filed suit against Spring ISD – another former employer hit with a whistleblower claim.
The 14th Court’s opinion, however, stems from a different case altogether.
Court records show Van Deelen was denied unemployment benefits by the Texas Workforce Commission upon TWC finding Spring ISD fired him for misconduct. Van Deelen appealed the decision to a district court and in response TWC and Spring ISD filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted, resulting in the appeal.
Van Deelen was employed by Spring ISD at Dekaney High School from November 2015 through April 2016 as a math teacher. During that time, Van Deelen made multiple reports about what he believed were numerous instances of unlawful drug use and dealing on the school’s campus by students and a teacher.
An investigation determined that the allegations had no merit and Van Deelen was warned that continuing to make unsubstantiated allegations could result in termination.
A memo on the investigation to the human resources department noted: “There is an evident pattern of false accusations against African-American students and teachers made by Mr. Van Deelen involving drugs.”
Court records show Van Deelen received multiple warnings for poor job performance as a teacher as well as his behavior toward students.
For example, on Feb. 11, 2016, Van Deelen was again reprimanded for marking a student absent when the student was present in class.
When he was temporarily relieved pending investigation, Van Deelen screamed obscenities on campus. As he was being escorted out, he hit the school’s principal with his personal bag, court records show.
The 14th Court concluded “that substantial evidence supports the TWC’s determination that Van Deelen was terminated for misconduct.”
“Given the evidence recited above, we cannot say that Van Deelen has met his burden to show the TWC’s decision was unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious,” the opinion states. “We overrule Van Deelen’s sole issue on appeal. Having overruled Van Deelen’s issue we affirm the trial court’s summary judgment.”
Appeals case No. 14-18-00489-CV