School district found not liable in PTSD case

Iraq war veteran claims school didn’t provide accommodation for illness

A federal jury concludes that a Montgomery County district isn’t liable for damages to a teacher who experienced a combat flashback during a pep rally.

After deliberating just more than an hour, a federal jury in Houston concluded Wednesday that a Montgomery County school district was not liable for damages to a teacher who fought in Iraq and experienced a flashback during a pep rally.

The teacher, Stephen Seidel, claimed the school had not provided reasonable accommodation for his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Attorney Erik Nichols, who represented the New Caney Independent School District, said he believed the jury reached the appropriate decision in rejecting Seidel’s claims.

“It’s very unfortunate for Mr. Seidel,” he said. “We definitely feel a great deal of sympathy for Mr. Seidel and his condition.”

Seidel’s attorney declined to comment after the jury’s decision. Seidel was not present in the courtroom.

New Caney ISD acknowledged that Seidel had been diagnosed with PTSD after discharge from the military. His mental disability stemmed, in part, from having been propelled by a mortar blast into the side of a building, according to Seidel’s testimony in U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison’s court.

And there was no dispute that New Caney High School Principal David Loyacano agreed when Seidel was hired in 2011 that the science teacher would not be required to attend pep rallies because of his PTSD. Instead, he would patrol the halls.

The case boiled down to whether Seidel’s department chair had the authority to tell Seidel he must accompany his students to a particularly highvoltage pep rally, called a “Lip Dub” rally, on the last day before winter break in 2012.

Two emails, including one in all capital letters, had instructed all teachers to attend. Seidel knew he was exempt, but when his department head insisted he be there despite his protest that he was a combat veteran, he assumed she was speaking with authority. And he followed instructions, according to testimony.

The packed rally — which featured T-shirt and confetti cannons, loud screaming and popping balloons — triggered a series of flashbacks. Seidel has not returned to work since that day and has qualified as 100 percent disabled under Social Security. He testified that he feared going to sleep because of the nightmares and feared returning to work because he might endanger students.

The school district argued that the principal, the ultimate authority, never rescinded the pep rally accommodation. Seidel should have conferred with the principal before attending, the district contended.

Between 11 and 20 percent of American veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD, according to Veterans Affairs. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must provide reasonable accommodation for employees who have a disability.