A longtime North Texas high school coach is “no longer employed” after alleged “unprofessional physical contact” with a student.
Coach Tye Adams was placed on administrative leave by Springtown Independent School District on May 8 pending the outcome of an investigation into the allegations.
Adams began working at Springtown High School in 2004. During his 20-year career with the district, he coached multiple sports including football and track.
Springtown ISD is a C-rated district in Parker County with about 4,100 students and 600 staff members.
The district issued a statement about the investigation without naming Adams:
The educator was immediately placed on administrative leave while the District promptly investigated the concern. The educator is no longer employed by the District. The District takes all reports of misconduct seriously and is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful environment for all students.
According to an educator misconduct report submitted to the Texas Education Agency by Superintendent Shane Strickland on May 9, Adams “engaged in behavior that did not maintain appropriate professional boundaries” with a student.
Strickland stated that Adams’ interactions with the student appeared to violate Standard 3.8 of the Texas Educators’ Code of Ethics.
The “enforceable standard” reads: “The educator shall maintain appropriate professional educator-student relationships and boundaries based on a reasonably prudent educator standard.”
The redacted misconduct report, obtained by a local citizen via a public information request, describes how two students alleged to Principal Andrew Hohman that they saw Adams holding hands with a female student while on campus. Hohman, who has since taken a job with Decatur ISD, then reported the allegations to the superintendent.
Strickland wrote that a review of surveillance video footage was “inconclusive.”
Additional footage of Adams and the student alone in the weight room and outside a redacted Springtown ISD location showed “questionable interactions” and “conduct that may not align with the professional boundaries expected of an educator,” and also revealed that Adams and the student met “on multiple occasions.”
Adams reportedly told administrators during an interview that there was “nothing inappropriate in his interactions with the student” and referenced the student’s “success” at a redacted event.
Strickland also wrote that the student’s parent [presumably—the word and corresponding pronoun are redacted] viewed the video footage and “did not express concern,” stating that Adams and his family are [redacted] and his “behavior appeared normal.”
Adams is married. His wife is a high school teacher and former coach in the district, and a graduate of Springtown High School.
The TEA report stated that Springtown ISD personnel submitted multiple reports to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and that Child Protective Services was conducting an investigation into the allegations.
The report also stated that the district’s school resource officers had submitted a written report to the Parker County District Attorney’s Office.
According to a report by WFAA, the city of Springtown is also investigating.
“Due to the nature and status of the investigation, as well as the age of the alleged victim at the time of the incident in question, we cannot provide any additional comment,” the city said in a statement to WFAA.
On September 9, the city sent a letter to the attorney general asking to withhold documents responsive to a public information request about the allegations, citing a “pending investigation” involving a victim of a criminal offense who was younger than 18 years old.
State records show Adams’ teaching certificate is currently under review by the TEA. He has been certified to teach PE since 2004.
Adams told the Springtown Epigraph in March that he always wanted to coach young athletes.
“Growing up in Hamilton, Adams played baseball, ran track and played football. Adams knew from a young age that he wanted to be more than just a coach but a mentor, like his coaches were to him,” the feature states.
Adams’ recently created Facebook page describes him as an insurance agent.
Hundreds of Texas school employees have been accused of sex crimes involving students and other children over the past few years in districts across the state.
Thousands of educator sexual misconduct complaints have been reported to the state since the TEA began keeping organized records in 2021.
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