Cy-Fair ISD employee charged after disabled student dies in Cypress

A Cy-Fair ISD behavioral specialist has been charged with third-degree felony injury to a disabled child after prosecutors say a forceful push at the Carlton Pre-Vocational Center in Cypress led to the death of a 16-year-old autistic student. The case is now putting district safeguards, staff training and the supervision of medically vulnerable children under a harsh local spotlight.

Court-record coverage identifies the employee as Donald Cameron Perkins, 50. Records and reported surveillance video allegedly show a deliberate, unprovoked push at the campus, which serves students in CFISD’s special education programming. The student later choked and died, turning what began as a campus incident into a criminal case with broad implications for families who rely on the district’s specialized services.

Officials were called around 8 a.m. on April 23 to a serious medical emergency involving the student, who was described in reporting as a 16-year-old autistic, non-verbal child. The reported timeline places the incident at the Carlton Pre-Vocational Center, a Cypress facility that CFISD says provides full-day LIFE Skills classes and specialized vocational programs tied to students’ Individualized Education Programs.

Texas law treats injury to a disabled person as a felony, a charge that carries added weight in a setting designed for children with high support needs. In this case, the allegations have raised questions well beyond one employee’s conduct: whether campus-level protections were strong enough, whether staff were adequately trained to handle vulnerable students, and how quickly district leaders can detect and stop dangerous behavior before it escalates.

Cy-Fair ISD said it removed Perkins immediately and is cooperating fully with law enforcement. Court records also show he bonded out of jail after being taken into custody and is scheduled to appear before a Harris County judge. Those next steps will keep the case moving through the Harris County court system, but the bigger issue for many parents is already clear: whether a campus built to serve disabled students can be trusted to keep them safe.

The Carlton Pre-Vocational Center sits at the center of that question. For families in Cypress and across northwest Harris County, the case is a reminder that accountability in special education is not abstract. It is measured in the daily protections given to students who cannot easily describe what happened to them, and in whether adults in the room recognize warning signs before tragedy strikes.