Attorney says Pasadena ISD student kicked out of school after falling ill was treated 'like a criminal'

When Jazmine Garcia fell ill at Pasadena ISD's Memorial High School on Jan. 26, the 15-year-old freshman said it took two assistant principals and a wheelchair to transport her from her math class to the school nurse's office.

But rather than calling her parents or emergency medical services, Garcia and her attorneys allege, three school officials and two police officers interrogated her about drug use and performed a field sobriety test on the woozy teen.

Now, Garcia is facing 12 weeks in a disciplinary school for drug-related misconduct, although a drug test taken that day showed the teen had no illicit substances in her system, her attorney says.

Attorney Randall Kallinen said he and Garcia's family are working to appeal the disciplinary decision but have been disappointed by the district's actions thus far. He said no legal or illegal drugs were found in her clothes or backpack when school officials searched her belongings.

Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Attorney Randall Kallinen, right, speaks to the media about his...

"They took off her sweater, they investigated her shoes, they searched her pockets – they treated her like a criminal, and then they expelled her from the school," Kallinen said at a news conference with his client. "They did this when the proof is there was nothing in her system."

Pasadena ISD officials said they could not comment on the case without violating federal student privacy laws but said some of the allegations were inaccurate.

"Regrettably, the information that has been presented here is not accurate in multiple ways. The safety of all our students in Pasadena ISD is our primary concern," the district wrote in a statement.

The incident is not the first to raise questions about the use of discipline in the Pasadena ISD. Four years ago, a 16-year-old boy who went to the front office at South Houston High School to retrieve a confiscated cell phone was turned down and escorted from the building, and then was attacked by a school resource officer with a nightstick after the boy uttered an obscenity. The teen, Cesar Suquet, Jr., was struck at least 18 times, including nine blows while he was on the ground. He later settled a federal lawsuit over the "brutal and excessive" nightstick attack for $60,000.

The district's 2017-2018 Student Code of Conduct says students are not allowed to be under the influence of a variety of substances, including over-the-counter medications, while at school. It is also a violation of the code of conduct to take an over-the-counter medication before a student is on school property, unless they have a doctor's note.

Possible indicators the district uses to determine if a student is under the influence include issues with walking, such as unsteadiness, according to the code.

If a student is deemed to have been under the influence of any known or unknown substance, the code of conduct states they must be sent to a disciplinary alternative education program.

Nelda Sullivan, a member of the Pasadena ISD school board, said policies in the code of conduct shouldn't come as a surprise to students and parents. Code of conduct booklets are given to families every year along with a document parents and guardians must sign acknowledging they read the code, she said.

"We abide by those policies for all students. We have operated that way for a period of time, and we'll continue to do the same," Sullivan said. "Those parents sign the code of conduct statements too, they know what the rules and regulations are."

Garcia said she began to feel lightheaded while sitting in her last-period math class a couple weeks ago. She began seeing "stars" before her vision faded to black, and felt too weak to walk when she was taken to the nurse's office.

When police officers performed a field sobriety test on her minutes later, her attorneys said, Garcia faltered.

Gene Wu, who represents the family as an attorney and also represents the 137th district in the Texas House of Representatives, said it was outrageous for officials to expect a sick teen to pass field sobriety tests typically reserved for drunk drivers.

"She had to be brought (to the clinic) in a wheelchair, she passed out in class. How do you expect her to perform? What do you expect her to do - a song and dance?" Wu asked. "They were looking for drugs, they wanted to find drugs, and when they didn't find any, they punished her having drugs anyway."

When Garcia's mother arrived at the school, she said, she drove the teen to a doctor's office and had her screened for drug use. Those tests came back negative, and Kallinen said those results were shared with school administrators and a discipline panel.

"They read this report that she was completely clean and still kicked her out," Kallinen said.

Most concerning, Kallinen and Wu said, is that school officials did not take Garcia's symptoms seriously. Even if Garcia were under the influence of a medication or narcotic, Kallinen said, the district should have taken her to a hospital before deciding how to discipline her. He said Garcia is now undergoing testing for a possible neurological disorder.

Garcia said that if she is cleared of the disciplinary charges and is allowed to return to Memorial High, her academic life won't be the same. When she's gone back to the campus for meetings since the incident, she said, the other students stare at her and whisper about her alleged misdeeds.

"The whole school is thinking I did it," Garcia said. "But they're wrong - I didn't do anything."