Texas Watchdogs

Lake Travis ISD leadership — including Principal Kellner, Superintendent Steve Flores, and the LTISD School Board — knew they faced challenges filling special education roles.

Instead of protecting vulnerable students, they quietly lowered hiring standards through their District of Innovation (DOI) Plan, allowing uncertified teachers into critical classrooms without parental disclosure.

Through this loophole, Rashid Mohagheghian was hired to work with 6-year-old special education students at Bee Cave Elementary — despite lacking proper certification and despite his troubling history.

Today, Texas Watchdog is releasing the internal documents that expose how leadership prioritized filling a seat over protecting children.

---

📄 Documents Released:

LTISD’s DOI Plan allowing hiring of uncertified teachers.
The official District of Innovation document LTISD used to lower teacher certification standards without informing parents.

Parental grievances and timeline showing LTISD knew of staffing concerns before the assault.
Contains both formal parental grievances and a timeline documenting when LTISD leadership became aware of staffing and safety concerns prior to the assault.

Timeline showing district knew concerns existed before the assault

---

🔥 Key Highlights from the Documents:

• 📄 LTISD’s DOI Plan explicitly waives Texas Education Code §21.003, allowing teachers without full certification to work unsupervised.
• 📄 No written parental disclosure required when placing uncertified staff with high-needs children.
• 📄 Parental concerns about staffing were dismissed and minimized prior to the assault incident.
• 📄 The district rejected grievances without meaningful corrective action — while protecting itself behind “innovation” status.
• 📄 Leadership had multiple warnings about unsafe staffing before any violence occurred.

---

📢 Accountability Callout:

Lake Travis ISD leadership — including Principal Kellner, Superintendent Flores, and the LTISD Board — must answer:

• Why was the DOI loophole used to staff special education classrooms without informing parents?
• Who authorized the assignment of Rashid Mohagheghian to vulnerable students without full credentialing?
• Why were parental grievances ignored — even after clear safety concerns were raised?

Texas Watchdog demands transparency, full disclosure of staff certification records, and immediate external investigation into LTISD’s hiring practices.

---

📨 Tipline:

If you have internal knowledge about unsafe staffing decisions, non-certified hires, or misconduct cover-ups inside Lake Travis ISD,

contact Texas Watchdog confidentially at Texas_watchdogs_Tips@proton.me.

We protect all sources.