Source reporting: Texas Scorecard
The State Board for Educator Certification has suspended a former Lewisville Independent School District principal’s credential for one year after finding that she failed to report alleged misconduct by a teacher who later faced unrelated capital-murder charges in Arkansas.
Texas Scorecard reported that Heather Shorter’s suspension runs from August 5, 2026, through August 5, 2027. The state also placed her on the Do Not Hire Registry.
Shorter was principal of Donald Elementary when parents raised concerns in 2023 about fourth-grade teacher Andrew McGann’s conduct toward female students. According to the report, the district placed McGann on administrative leave while reviewing the complaints. Shorter later told families that the internal inquiry found no evidence of inappropriate conduct, and McGann was allowed to resign in May 2023.
Texas Scorecard reported that Shorter did not send the allegations to the Texas Education Agency. McGann subsequently held professional credentials in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas and obtained other teaching positions.
In July 2025, Arkansas authorities charged McGann with two counts of capital murder in the stabbing deaths of Cristen and Clinton Brink at Devil’s Den State Park. McGann pleaded not guilty, is being held without bond, and is scheduled for trial on March 29, 2027, according to the article. Those charges remain allegations and are separate from the earlier school complaints. His later arrest does not by itself prove the alleged classroom misconduct.
Shorter left Lewisville ISD in June 2025. The state certification sanction is a completed administrative action, while the Arkansas criminal prosecution remains unresolved.
The Texas Legislature strengthened educator-misconduct reporting requirements through Senate Bill 571 in 2025. The law expressly added inappropriate communications and boundary violations to conduct that must be reported and expanded certification consequences for educators arrested for specified serious crimes. Because the complaints involving McGann arose in 2023, the newer statute should not be treated as the basis for duties that did not yet exist; the certification board’s order establishes the sanction actually imposed.
Texas Scorecard also cited the TEA Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard, which showed 238 pending failure-to-report investigations and an average of 22 new cases opened each month.
The case has statewide accountability significance because educator reporting rules are intended to prevent unresolved concerns from disappearing when employees move between districts or states. Public access to final disciplinary orders, clear reporting timelines, and consistent referral practices helps parents and hiring districts distinguish substantiated findings from allegations while identifying failures by administrators to follow required procedures.