On Aug. 15, a Texas assistant principal was the victim of a violent attack by a student in a case that has received nationwide attention and sent ripples through the public education community. Candra Rogers — assistant principal at Collins Intermediate School in Corsicana ISD — was left blind in one eye by the assault. This incident underscores the urgent need for improved safety measures and increased funding for public schools.
Rogers was responding to a call for assistance from a behavioral teacher When she found one student who had reportedly been assaulted by a classmate outside the classroom with the teacher and other students. This injured student was holding his head.
Upon entering the classroom, Rogers encountered an “irate” student in a “ransacked” room. Despite her attempts to de-escalate the situation, the student threw multiple chairs and ultimately a wooden hanger. The hanger struck Rogers in the right eye and knocked it out of its socket, causing an injury so severe that Rogers had to be airlifted to a Dallas hospital for emergency surgery. School officials released the student into the custody of his parents and have prohibited him from returning to campus. The assault was referred to the Navarro County District Attorney’s Office, and it is expected to be handled through the juvenile court system.
“I grabbed my face while blood was pouring out of my head and stumbled out of the classroom door,” Rogers recounted in a press conference. Doctors were able to reinsert her eye, but they believe the damage is permanent, and Rogers may ultimately lose the eye entirely.
“I will have to have an additional surgery to repair my eyelid, and because doctors are believing my blindness to be permanent, removing my eye may have to be an option,” Rogers said. “I still believe in God for a miracle for restoration of my sight.”
This latest attack occurred amid growing concerns about violence against educators and school employees. “We should never have to fear being in a classroom with an aggressive student,” Rogers emphasized. “Overly aggressive students need services to meet their needs, but I do not believe the safety of other students and the educational staff should suffer.”
Rogers rightly said she believes that Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature share some responsibility for the attack due to the chronic lack of adequate funding for public schools, a situation that has reached a crisis point in recent years.
Referencing the $4 billion allocated to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for additional school funding and raises that was held hostage for vouchers in 2023, she stated, “To date, Governor Abbott has failed to release these funds because his political priority is school choice.”
“The collateral damage of Governor Abbott’s choices include but are not limited to academic struggles, student discipline struggles, teacher retention challenges, stifling program advancements, loss of student enrichment programs, lessening of needed student support, erosion of parent and external stakeholder trust, [and] decreased student engagement,” Rogers said.
In the wake of the attack, Rogers has called for immediate action:
- Re-evaluation of Chapter 37 of the Texas Education Code, which governs disciplinary procedures, to better protect educators, school employees, and students. Rogers noted that Chapter 37 must account for students’ “mental, social, and emotional well-being.”
- Increased funding for public schools, including use of the state’s $32.7 billion budget surplus.
We stand with Assistant Principal Rogers and echo her calls for change in our own legislative agenda, the Educator’s Bill of Rights. No educator, school employee, or student should ever worry about their safety at school. It’s time for our state leaders to prioritize public education funding and implement comprehensive safety measures to protect those who work and learn in our public schools.