Fort Worth ISD Asks the Texas Supreme Court to Step Into a 14-Year-Old Whistleblower Lawsuit
The district has petitioned the state's high court to review the retaliation case brought by former employee Joseph Palazzolo - a lawsuit filed in 2012, now before a district led by a state-appointed board of managers.
Fort Worth ISD is asking the Texas Supreme Court to intervene in one of the longest-running disputes in the district's history. The district has filed a petition for review with the court in the whistleblower retaliation lawsuit brought by former employee Joseph Palazzolo, seeking to reverse a lower court decision that denied its plea to dismiss the case, according to a report published Friday. The case is filed with the Supreme Court under No. 26-1223, and a court notice confirmed the petition filing on October 23, 2026.
The lawsuit dates to 2012 - a legal battle that has now spanned 14 years. Palazzolo alleges that he faced retaliation and discrimination after reporting inaccurate student attendance records within the district. Those are his allegations, as reported; the district's position in the current filing is procedural - that the case should have been dismissed - and no court has announced a final finding on the claims in this report.
The petition arrives while Fort Worth ISD is led by state-installed leadership: the Texas Education Agency appointed a Board of Managers for the district in March 2026. That means a lawsuit rooted in the district's past is now being carried, at the state's highest civil court, by the board the state put in charge of its future. What the Supreme Court does with the petition - grant review or let the lower court's decision stand - is the next step in a case older than many of the district's current students.
