Another Texas high school football coach was arrested for alleged sexual misconduct with a female student.
Izaiah Micheal Kelley, 23, was charged with improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.
Kelley is a teacher and coach at Clarendon High School in Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District, located near Amarillo.
According to his now-private Instagram account, Kelley coached football, basketball, and track.
He allegedly targeted a 17-year-old student. The age of consent in Texas is 17, but sexual behavior by a school employee toward a student is a crime regardless of the student’s age.
Kelley was arrested June 4 and released the next day on a $30,000 bond.
Clarendon CISD Superintendent Byron May released a statement Monday addressing Kelley’s arrest.
May said district administrators received a report on June 1 of an employee’s alleged misconduct with a Clarendon CISD student.
According to May, administrators immediately informed the Donley County Sheriff’s Office and other authorities as required by law and district policy, placed the educator on leave, and initiated an internal investigation into the allegations.
May did not name the employee, citing laws prohibiting the district from disclosing “confidential personnel information.”
Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn identified Kelley as the suspect.
“The District will continue to cooperate to the fullest extent permitted by law with law enforcement, the Texas Education Agency, and other state and local agencies relating to educator misconduct,” wrote May. “Student safety and proper professional relationships between staff and students are top priorities.”
May added that Clarendon employees receive “regular training” regarding professional relationships, appropriate communications, and proper boundaries with students.
Anyone with concerns about suspected misconduct involving Kelley or any other staff member is encouraged to contact law enforcement.
This was Kelley’s first school year working for Clarendon CISD.
Kelley graduated in 2025 from Abilene Christian University and played football there for three seasons. He played high school football in Lubbock ISD, where his acclaimed grandfather Louis Kelley coached for 40 years.
State records show Kelley does not hold a Texas teaching certificate nor is he currently listed on the Do Not Hire Registry as under investigation by the TEA.
In the past few years, hundreds of Texas school employees—including dozens of coaches—have been accused of sex crimes involving students and minors.
The TEA’s Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard shows that the agency is currently investigating more than 2,000 sexual misconduct complaints and opening an average of 250 new cases each month.
