The Story Behind The Case
It’s like a movie, but the plot twists are reality!
This timeline shows important events in the case and how things progressed over time. Stories like this are common in our education system, yet they rarely go to trial due to the influence and large budgets of school districts.
A School District In Crisis
June 2021 - July 2021
In June 2021, the Round Rock Independent School District (RRISD) Board of Trustees voted 5-2 to hire Hafedh Azaiez as the district’s new superintendent. The hiring process immediately sparked controversy. Board members Mary Bone and Danielle Weston, who voted against Azaiez’s hiring, alleged that the decision had been made behind closed doors through illegal private deliberations—what is known as a “walking quorum.” Concerned citizens, including Jeremy Story, a Round Rock taxpayer and parent, began speaking out against what they saw as an abuse of power.
As the controversy swirled, troubling allegations emerged about Superintendent Azaiez. Story learned that Azaiez had allegedly assaulted his pregnant mistress, a local principal, after she refused to abort their unborn child. The accusations were serious enough that a judge issued a protective order against Azaiez in July 2021. Story and others attempted to bring this information to the attention of the Board, urging them to take action against their newly hired superintendent.
Silencing the Critics
August 2021 - Sept 2021
Despite the alarming allegations, the Board majority refused to act. Instead of addressing the claims, they sought to suppress those speaking out. On August 16, 2021, at an RRISD Board meeting, , during his allotted public comment time, Story attempted to speak about a resolution the board was considering that night which discussed oversight of the Superintendent and security concerns for the district. Azaiez’s misconduct and the alleged violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Before he could finish, Board President Amy Weir directed police officers to remove him. Officers forcibly escorted Story out of the meeting, violating his First Amendment right to speak at a public meeting.
This suppression did not stop with a single meeting. On September 14, 2021, the Board suddenly and arbitrarily imposed restrictive attendance policies under the guise of COVID-19 precautions, limiting access to a meeting where further discussion of Azaiez’s malfesiance was expected. They pulled most every chair out of a 375 person auditorium leaving only 18 chairs. They then told parents they had to sit in the government provided chairs or leave. Across the hall. tons of students met in the gym with no spacing requirements nor were these types of requirements put anywhere else in the district. To top it off they stationed school district police at the entry doors to the school board meeting who blocked the doors with their bodies. Many parents, including Story, were locked out. When Clark protested, he too was forcibly removed from the building by district police.
Initial Complaints and Attempts to Seek Accountability
August 2021 - Sept 2021
Determined to ensure transparency and accountability, Jeremy Story took multiple steps to formally report his concerns. He first lodged complaints directly with RRISD, addressing the Board of Trustees and urging them to investigate Azaiez’s conduct and reconsider his appointment. Despite Story providing evidence, including the protective order against Azaiez, the Board majority refused to take action, shielding the superintendent from scrutiny.
Seeing no recourse within the district, Story escalated his concerns to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), filing a formal complaint outlining the alleged misconduct and procedural violations in Azaiez’s hiring. He detailed the Board’s improper deliberations, the superintendent’s personal scandal, and the subsequent suppression of public input at school board meetings. However, RRISD’s influence and bureaucratic inertia delayed any meaningful response from the TEA.
Recognizing the potential criminal nature of some of the actions, Story also reached out to county officials, including the Williamson County Attorney and the Sheriff’s Office, requesting an investigation into whether Azaiez’s actions, as well as the school district’s conduct, violated any laws. Despite presenting credible allegations, he was met with resistance, as local officials hesitated to challenge the entrenched power structure of RRISD.
In addition to these efforts, Story filed complaints with the RRISD School Police Department, demanding an investigation into the district’s law enforcement officers’ role in suppressing free speech at board meetings. However, instead of investigating the misconduct, RRISD police officers refused to do an internal investigation and later participated in his retaliatory arrest.
Furthering his pursuit of justice, Story also filed a complaint with the Round Rock Police Department, detailing how RRISD officials and their police force were using their authority to silence him and other parents. However, just as they took testimony from Story and began investigating the misconduct, RRISD city police officers were told to stop the investigation by the county attorney’s office. The same county attorney’s office who later attempted to criminally prosecute Story….
The Retaliatory Arrest
Sept 2021
On September 17, 2021, in a shocking escalation, RRISD police officers showed up at Story’s home and arrested him in front of his children. Clark was arrested simultaneously at his home with his kids present as well. Sheriff’s Deputies threatened to press new false charges against one of Story’s children if Story did not willingly exit his home and allow them to arrest him. The charges against Story and Clark stemmed from their efforts to speak out against the superintendent and the Board’s actions. The arrests, which came days after their public opposition, were a clear act of retaliation meant to send a chilling message to any parent who dared to challenge RRISD’s leadership.
Although the school district and the county had done nothing to deal with the many complaints Story and others had filed over the 30 days since he had been unlawfully removed from the speaking stand in the board room, suddenly on the 30th day an false warrant affidavit was created, a warrant was obtained, and teams of officers were sent out at 5pm to arrest Story with intent to have excuse to hold him in jail all weekend without a judge.
Efforts to Silence Dissenting Board Members
Sept 2021 - May 2024
From the outset, the five board members who supported Azaiez worked aggressively to suppress any opposition. Trustees Mary Bone and Danielle Weston, the only two board members who questioned Azaiez’s hiring and called for transparency, were targeted in a coordinated effort to silence them. The majority faction on the board blocked their attempts to add discussion items about Azaiez’s misconduct to meeting agendas, refused to hold a special session to address community concerns, and even went as far as attempting to censure them.
In one particularly egregious act, the majority members attempted to exclude Bone and Weston from closed executive sessions and limit their access to crucial district information. They also pushed for punitive actions against the dissenting trustees, falsely accusing them of misconduct to justify potential removal efforts. These actions created a toxic and undemocratic environment, where legitimate concerns about leadership and transparency were met with retaliation instead of accountability.
New Actions to Curb Dissent Through More Arrests
September 2022
A year later, in September 2022, Jeremy Story once again found himself targeted by RRISD’s efforts to suppress free speech—this time at a school-sponsored homecoming football game. Story and a group of parents were peacefully handing out campaign materials and fans featuring the names of school board candidates who opposed the district’s leadership. The activity took place in a public parking lot outside the stadium, an area traditionally recognized as a public forum for speech.
Despite this, RRISD police officers approached Story and ordered him to stop, claiming that distributing campaign materials on school property was prohibited. When Story questioned the legality of the directive, he was met with threats of arrest. Officers, under orders from RRISD officials, escalated the situation, creating an environment of intimidation and fear. They actually threatened to arrest the candidates who were running against the board members who had wrongfully catalyzed Story’s arrest a year earlier!
Story later learned that Superintendent Azaiez and trustees had been involved in directing the police action. The district doubled down on its stance, justifying the suppression of speech with an inconsistent and vague interpretation of school policy. This blatant violation of First Amendment rights was yet another example of RRISD’s pattern of using government power to silence critics.
Legal Battle for Free Speech and Accountability
May 2022 - present
Determined to fight back, Story filed a lawsuit against RRISD, Superintendent Azaiez, several Board trustees, and RRISD police officers. His legal complaint alleges violations of his First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, including retaliation for protected speech, unlawful arrest, and due process violations. Story also argues that the Board’s actions violated the Texas Open Meetings Act by improperly restricting public participation and making key decisions in secret.
As the case has progressed, new evidence continued to surface about RRISD’s misconduct. In addition to the superintendent’s personal scandal, the lawsuit exposed a pattern of abuse, intimidation, and coordinated efforts to stifle dissent. Many school district administrators have resigned. The district has also gone through three police chiefs, all three were involved in the violations in Story’s case.
The legal battle has become about more than just Story—it is about the right of every parent to hold their local school board accountable without fear of retribution.
The Resignation of RRISD Police Chief Dennis Weiner And Appointment Of Story's Accuser As New Interim Chief
May 2024
As the lawsuit progressed, both Round Rock ISD Police Chief Jeffrey Yarbrough and Assistant Police Chief James Williby abruptly resigned, raising further questions about the district’s internal turmoil. After the departure of former RRISD Police Chief Yarbrough, Chief Dennis Weiner was brought in to oversee the district’s law enforcement operations. However, his tenure was marred by controversy, as he found himself at the center of internal conflicts regarding how RRISD’s police force was being used against parents like Jeremy Story.
In early 2024, Weiner abruptly resigned from his position, citing a toxic culture within the district’s administration and political interference in law enforcement decisions. In his public statements, Weiner revealed that he had been pressured by district leadership, including Superintendent Azaiez, to prioritize the suppression of dissent over legitimate security concerns. He expressed concerns about the misuse of RRISD police to suppress investigations.
Weiner’s resignation added another layer of credibility to the allegations that RRISD had engaged in an ongoing campaign of retaliation and abuse of power. His statements reinforced claims that district leadership had misused law enforcement to silence critics rather than uphold the law fairly and impartially.
Lauren Griffith, a key defendant in the lawsuit who played a role in crafting the false affidavit against Story, was later rewarded with a promotion to RRISD Interim Police Chief—further cementing the district’s pattern of using law enforcement to protect those complicit in its misconduct.
Financial Transparency Scandal: The Withheld Disclosing Payments to Board President Amber Feller Landrum
July 2024
The lack of transparency in RRISD extended beyond personnel decisions. It was revealed in the summer of 2024 that RRISD had withheld over $76,000 in payments made to Board President Amber Feller Landrum when responding to a Public Information Request (PIR) submitted by a concerned parent in May 2022. Initially, the district provided a heavily redacted response, listing only a couple of minor reimbursements. However, later public records obtained through another PIR and from the national transparency watchdog Open The Books exposed that RRISD had omitted tens of thousands of dollars in payments.
Former Trustee Dr. Mary Bone, who had also requested this financial information through legal channels, was similarly denied access. The Texas Education Code (TEC 11.1512 (c)) requires trustees to have full insight into district financial records, yet Bone’s requests were met with stonewalling and redactions. The discrepancy raised serious concerns about whether these payments were legal, ethical, or part of a broader pattern of financial mismanagement.
A parent who had originally requested the PIR filed a formal complaint with the Williamson County District Attorney, arguing that RRISD had violated the Texas Public Information Act by illegally redacting non-confidential financial records. The District Attorney’s office initially declined to investigate, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) as a possible justification for withholding records—despite the fact that the payments in question had nothing to do with student privacy.
These revelations fueled speculation about whether these payments represented a bribe, an abuse of power, or a coordinated cover-up. Given that these financial transactions occurred while RRISD was engaged in suppressing parental dissent, arresting outspoken community members, and protecting a superintendent with a domestic violence restraining order, the lack of transparency only deepened public distrust.
The parent who filed the complaint now has the option to escalate the matter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for further review. If confirmed as a violation of public records laws, RRISD’s actions could have legal ramifications beyond just financial mismanagement—potentially implicating high-level officials in an orchestrated attempt to withhold crucial information from the public. Could it be that these payments were indirectly favors given to the board President in a similar time to when she covered for Superintendent Azaiez’s malfesiance and persecuted Jeremy Story?
Exposing Wrongdoing Under Court Orders - Your Help Is Needed TODAY
Jan 2025 - present
The district has tried three times to get the case dismissed. After fighting the district in court for over 2 years Story’s suit has survived these dismissals and made it to the discovery phase. Story now needs to raise $110,000 for legal and court fees to pay for subpoenas, depositions(forced interviews under oath of key witnesses), interrogatories and filings (forced written questions under oath to witnesses). This is crucial to expose all of what happened and is continuing to happen. Many people are willing to testify against the district. In addition, the Superintendent, school board trustees, sheriff and others should be forced to testify under oath. This will set the stage for a successful trial later this summer or Fall.
Jeremy Story needs your help to continue this fight. He is a pastor, is not independently wealthy, and has had to raise funds to fight this battle to this point. Not one penny has gone to him personally. Every dollar donated goes into a designated non-profit charity account for this case and has been used for legal and court fees. There is a looming deadline in April for completing all legal discovery work. Jeremy needs your financial partnership today before that deadline expires. His success in this case will embolden parents across the nation and provide legal precedence for them.
