SCHERTZ, Texas – More than two years after a traumatic brain injury sidelined a Steele High School teacher, the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District’s board voted to terminate his contract.
For months, KSAT Investigates has been digging into the number of teachers being injured in the classroom by students.
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Last year, special education teacher Chris Dombkowski told KSAT Investigates about how his injury has impacted his life.
Dombkowski previously told KSAT doctors diagnosed him with a traumatic brain injury.
He said it happened in November 2022 after a student headbutted him.
SCUCISD had 126 reports of teacher injuries caused by students in the 2022-2023 school year, according to records reviewed by KSAT Investigates.
“I can no longer drive,” Dombkowski previously told KSAT Investigates. “I have short-term memory issues and a lot of other things that go along with it.”
Before the school board voted to terminate his contract, Dombkowski criticized how the district handled his injury.
“I asked for help. I asked for safe schools,” Dombkowski said. “I asked for assistance from all sorts of people. But instead, you guys kept a situation with a student that was warned about for months that injured other students, injured other teachers, and then ultimately left me with a traumatic brain injury.”
If you have experienced violence in the classroom, submit your responses to Daniela Ibarra at dibarra@ksat.com.
Daniela is an IRE 2025 Chauncey Bailey Investigative Reporting Fellow. This story is part of her year-long project focusing on teacher injuries by students.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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