UVALDE, Texas – The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District board voted to appeal a district court decision that forces the district and the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office to release documents and records related to the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022.
The board met Tuesday to discuss the measure. After two hours in executive session, board members announced they had voted to take possible action in the lawsuit.
The motion was made by Uvalde CISD board Vice President Laura Perez and seconded by Trustee Javier Flores. The board voted unanimously in favor.
About the ruling
The ruling issued on July 8 by Judge Sid Harle of the 38th Judicial District Court in Uvalde County, gave the school district and the sheriff’s office until July 28 to release the records, which include police body camera footage, 911 calls, emails, text messages related to the shooting and subsequent investigation.
According to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of media organizations, which includes KSAT 12 News, the documents could provide crucial insights into the timeline of events and decision-making processes during the massacre that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers.
“This ruling is a pivotal step towards ensuring transparency and accountability,” said Laura Prather, a media law attorney with Haynes Boone, which represents the news organizations. “The public deserves to know the full details of the response to this tragic event, and the information could be critical in preventing future tragedies.”
This was the second major win for the coalition. In June 2023, a similar victory in Austin state court required the Texas Department of Public Safety to release pertinent records. DPS is currently appealing the ruling and delaying the release of more than two terabytes of data related to the investigation.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell had opposed the release of records to the news organizations, saying their release could harm her criminal investigation into the shooting response. In late June, Mitchell announced a grand jury had indicted the former school Police Chief Pete Arredondo and Officer Adrian Gonzales on felony charges of child endangerment.
You can read Harle’s ruling below:
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