Katy ISD investigates alleged sexual assault at McDonald Junior High

Katy ISD is investigating an alleged sexual assault involving a McDonald Junior High student with special needs after court records said a 14-year-old girl with autism and a speech impairment reported that a 13-year-old male classmate forcibly kissed her, pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her. The allegation, tied to Jan. 2, puts a Harris County campus under scrutiny for how it supervised a vulnerable student and how quickly staff and investigators moved after the report.

Administrators reviewed surveillance video that reportedly showed the two students entering a room together and later leaving it. The same day the allegation was reported, the girl underwent a sexual-assault medical exam at a hospital. A warrant in the case reportedly said there was insufficient DNA and that investigators were seeking a cheek swab from the boy. Those details point to an active criminal investigation as well as a school discipline matter, not a rumor or an uninvestigated complaint.

Katy ISD said it is investigating the allegation and that campus and district staff do not tolerate behavior that threatens child safety. The district’s public discipline materials say its Student Code of Conduct is the response to Texas Education Code Chapter 37 and defines misconduct that can lead to disciplinary consequences. Its special education operating procedures are also posted publicly as detailed guidance for implementing board policy, a framework that is supposed to shape how the district handles students with disabilities on campus and in day-to-day supervision.

The case also raises questions about how much district staff were required to report, and to whom, once the allegation surfaced. Harris County District Attorney officials and Harris County juvenile court officials could not confirm or deny involvement because minors are involved, and juvenile matters often have restricted records. The county’s juvenile justice system runs through the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, while the district clerk offers public case-search tools that do not always open juvenile files to the public.

The wider context is not rare for Texas schools. Districts across the state reported 108 instances in which a student was accused of sexual assault at a school or school-sponsored event during the 2021-22 school year, according to Texas Education Agency data. TEA says its Educator Investigations Division reviews misconduct allegations to determine whether disciplinary action is needed against an educator’s certificate or eligibility to work in public schools, underscoring how school safety, disability services and criminal investigations can overlap when allegations surface on a campus like McDonald Junior High.