Texas School Principals Indicted On Charges Of Illegal Electioneering

Texas principals indicted

Two school principals from North Texas are facing charges for supposedly utilizing their school email accounts to sway their staff to vote for specific political candidates during the March primary elections.

Election regulations

The married couple, who both work in Denton, have been charged with breaching Texas election regulations and may be sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of up to $4,000 if found guilty.

Lindsay Luján

It is claimed that Lindsay Luján, who serves as the director of special programs for the Denton Independent School District and is also the principal of Alexander Elementary School, sent an email to school staff on February 5 urging them to support Republican candidates who are against school voucher programs.

Reduce funding

School vouchers could potentially reduce funding for public schools and offer families the choice to enroll their children in private schools or other non-traditional educational settings.

Email

The email contained a link to a scorecard illustrating each candidate’s stance on this matter.

Jesus Luján

Jesus Luján, a principal at Borman Elementary School, sent a similar email to staff members that read: “Vote for candidates who support public education and school funding in the Republican primaries, no matter what your party affiliation is, Republican or Democrat,” Luján wrote in the email.

Texas Tribune

During this election period, the Texas Tribune highlighted that Republican Governor Greg Abbott placed significant emphasis on the expansion of school voucher programs.

Against the law

In Texas, it is against the law for school districts to utilize state or local funds, as well as school resources, to advocate for or against any political candidate.

February

In February, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Denton ISD for engaging in unlawful electioneering, contending that emails from staff members are considered electioneering and go against state regulations.

Improper

“It is absolutely improper for publicly funded entities like school districts to engage in electioneering as Denton ISD has done,” Paxton said.

Government officials

“Government officials everywhere are on notice that I will use every legal remedy available to me to stop school districts from influencing or coercing their employees to vote any particular way, especially when a district uses taxpayer resources and money to do so.”

Protected

“Our elections must be completely protected from any illegal interference.”