Derrick Brookins, a choir director at Denton ISD’s Braswell High School in Little Elm, was arrested on an indecency with a child charge the day before the seniors in his program graduated.
Frisco police arrested Brookins, 54, on May 22 for allegedly performing a sexual act in front of a child, according to an arrest report. Collin County Jail records show his bail was set at $10,000, and he posted bail and was released May 23.
The Denton Record-Chronicle has requested records related to Brookins’ arrest from the district clerk’s office.
“Derrick Brookins is no longer employed at Braswell High School,” said Nick Petito, Denton ISD’s chief communications and marketing officer. “While this investigation is not related to Denton ISD in any way, the district is unable to provide additional details at this time due to the ongoing investigation.”
Petito said the incident under investigation didn’t occur in the school district and didn’t involve any Denton ISD students.
Conservative media outlet Texas Scorecard reported that Braswell Principal DeCorian Hailey sent a message to families of Braswell students saying the incident was “unrelated to Braswell High School, Denton ISD, our students or any school-related activities.” Hailey didn’t identify Brookins, but said the individual would no longer be employed by the district for the upcoming school year.
The Texas Education Agency listed Brookins’ provisional lifetime credentials as being under review by the agency’s Educator Investigations Division, but shows his certificate to teach music to students in prekindergarten through 12th grade as valid. Teachers with valid credentials are qualified to hold employment in Texas schools if their certificate isn’t inactive, surrendered, suspended, canceled or revoked.
Brookins is also listed as the music director at St. James Episcopal Church in Dallas, according the church’s website as of Monday.
Brookins’ LinkedIn page reports that he started working at Braswell High in July 2022, and in January he posted that he was looking for a new position, and listed Denton ISD among the districts he’s worked for previously. He has also worked in Plano ISD and Klein ISD. He earned his bachelor’s degree in choral music education from the University of North Texas and said he’s taught music in North Texas schools for more than 20 years.