SILSBEE, Texas — A Silsbee ISD teacher has resigned after after he was suspended during an investigation due to allegations of inappropriate communication with a student.
On August 28, Silsbee ISD administration received allegations of misconduct by teacher Randolf Byars. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Gregg Weiss, immediately suspended his employment and commenced an investigation into those allegations.
On September 4, Hardin County Sheriff's Office says it has conducted an extensive investigation into the allegations. This involved conducting witness interviews, reviewing digital evidence from cellular phones and social media accounts, and a forensic interview by the Garth House Child Advocacy Center.
After the investigation the Hardin County Sherriff's Office said they did not discover any criminal conduct to support allegations of criminal conduct by an employee of the Silsbee School District in a press release Tuesday afternoon.
However, ethical standards along with district policies and procedures governing electronic communication between employees and students were violated according to a press release from Silsbee ISD.
"We want to assure our community that the District has complied with all reporting requirements to TEA which shares information with State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) when an investigation reveals potential or actual misconduct," Silsbee ISD stated in the press release. "When misconduct is reported to TEA, the agency investigates and shares its findings with SBEC, which could potentially lead to disciplinary action against an educator’s certification.
On Monday, September 9 while remaining on suspension, Byars reportedly resigned his employment with Silsbee ISD.
"Silsbee ISD remains committed to maintaining a relationship of trust with the community and will not tolerate any blatant disregard for our policies and procedures," stated Silsbee ISD.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.