Attorneys for Rockwall high school coaches accused of assigning workouts that hospitalized a cheerleader say her parents should be suing the district instead, according to court filings.
Rockwall-Heath High School coaches Amanda Jones, Ryleigh Valladarez and Kaley Stewart filed a motion to dismiss the suit filed by parents Robert and Misty Hanvey, which alleged the coaches assigned 50 burpees with pushups to their cheerleading class in last October as punishment for their performance. Student E.H., then a minor and a junior, was hospitalized with exertional rhabdomyolysis the next week, according to the suit.
But the teachers argued a school district is a governmental entity under state law, and the teachers were acting within the scope of their employment. That would mean any negligence claims against them should be dismissed and directed at Rockwall ISD, they say.
The workouts “occurred during the cheerleading class period and related to discipline, instruction, and team management, which are undoubtedly part of the job duties of a teacher and coach,” the motion states.
Attorney Beth Walters argued that point in a court hearing in Rockwall Friday. She declined to comment to KERA News. Rockwall County District Judge Brett Hall said he'd rule "pretty quickly" on the motion.
The suit states E.H. was sick with strep and had a doctor’s note excusing her from exercise. Still, the parents allege teachers made E.H. do the modified burpees, with more punishments to come if they weren’t done correctly. The incident report, according to the lawsuit, stated E.H. was “visibly in distress yet Coach Jones yelled at her to finish.”
E.H.’s arms started hurting while she exercised, the suit states, and when she told her teachers about the pain, they told her to take pain medicine and stretch.
The next day, she felt progressively sore, and her arms were swollen, according to the suit. She couldn’t lift her arms, felt exhausted and her mother had to help her dress and eat.
Then E.H. started having nose bleeds and saw blood in her urine. E.H.’s doctor found her blood creatine kinase levels were dangerously high, according to the suit — a symptom of rhabdomyolysis. The medical condition affects the kidneys and muscles is often associated with intense physical exertion.
Attorney Mike Sawicki, who’s representing the girl's parents, argued in case filings and in court that the allegedly harmful nature of the workouts was outside the scope of the coaches’ employment, so they can be sued individually. He also argued the alleged punishments satisfy a provision in the Texas Education Code that states school employees aren’t exempt from liability if they use excessive force in discipline or are negligent and cause bodily injury to students.
And if the plaintiffs sued Rockwall ISD, Sawicki told KERA News in an interview after the hearing, the district would be able to claim governmental immunity.
“Their argument here today would basically allow teachers to violate district policies and rules and injure students and then face no liability for it, which the Education Code doesn't provide for,” he said.
A Rockwall ISD investigation found the teachers violated at least five different district policies, according to a district report included in the suit. The report also states the coaches lack training and knowledge on rhabdomyolysis.
But after a six-month appeal process, the Rockwall ISD Board of Trustees allegedly concluded they didn’t have enough evidence to reimburse E.H.’s parents for her medical expenses, which her parents requested, according to the suit.
KERA News reached out to Rockwall ISD for comment and will update this story with any response.
Stewart left the cheerleading team in November 2024, shortly after the district’s investigation began, according to the suit. Jones and Valladarez left the team about a week after the investigation finished.
Attorneys for Rockwall-Heath's former head football coach John Harrell are making a similar legal argument in a lawsuit pending against him in Dallas County. Harrell ultimately resigned after families of more than 20 football players said the students were diagnosed with or showed symptoms of rhabdomyolysis after a workout punishment he and his coaching team assigned.
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