Public Statement Regarding Prior Fort Bend Truancy Litigation
Issued November 27, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Given recent media inquiry, the following is offered to help close the chapter on this important reform in the State of Texas.
Prior civil proceedings undertaken in my role as lead counsel challenging Fort Bend County’s and Fort Bend ISD’s former truancy practices on behalf of students were resolved years ago.
- All claims by the District were resolved privately for a small, negotiated amount, a business decision made solely to close out litigation that no longer served any public purpose.
- The remaining awards against other defendants have never been enforced and remain legally inert.
Texas law provides strong, well-established protections for personal assets and family wealth — protections I routinely help my clients navigate, and I apply those same lawful principles to my own affairs. The final outcome of this case reflected that legal reality.
The case concluded quietly, privately, and on terms that had no impact on my financial well-being or my career — this is despite initial sensational judicial rulings for aggressive monetary sanctions along with institutional press releases, both undertaken for political theater and in a desperate attempt to save face in dealing with embarrassment and fallout. We openly challenged a system of abuse, and blowback from that system is unfortunately often commonplace in those situations.
In the years since, the substance of what was raised has been fully and completely validated:
- The State of Texas abolished criminal truancy.
- Fort Bend ISD and Fort Bend County dismantled the model at issue.
- Counties across the state reformed their practices consistent with comprehensive legislative reform.
- This litigation helped drive those reforms, which today makes the public school environment a better place for millions of Texas public school children and their families.
For many years, I refrained from public comment because the work that mattered — protecting students and helping reshape a broken system — had already been accomplished. Further commentary would have distracted from that collective victory. Everyone has moved on, Texas is better, and that is incredibly healthy.
We are in a better place now. I am grateful for that, and proud of my work alongside many others who pushed for meaningful and much needed reform. With Thanksgiving upon us, we all have much to be thankful for.
— Deron R. Harrington, JD, CPA
Isaiah 1:17 & 54:17, Genesis 50:20, Psalm 82:3