Parents Want Katy ISD to Add Self-Defense to Discipline Policy After Video Goes Viral
- ncookclark
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
April 15, 2025
By Natalie Cook Clark
The father of the Taylor High School girl in the viral fight video addressed the Board of Trustees at last night’s meeting. The Board reviewed the current disciplinary policy and will review cases to determine if a policy change is needed.
A fight that took place at Katy ISD’s Taylor High School on March 25, 2025, has become a viral video that most of Katy and beyond have witnessed where a larger male student beats a female student.
While the District says they currently cannot discuss the video, they have said in a statement that it “lacks context.”
Katy ISD has not revealed the students involved but Danny Gianfrancesco says that his daughter, a 15-year-old freshman, is the girl in the video. Last night he addressed his concerns over the District’s disciplinary polices to the Board of Trustees.
The 61-second fight sent his daughter to the emergency room. According to Gianfrancesco, she sustained numerous abrasions, a black-eye, and showed signs of a concussion. The Gianfrancesco was concerned over the lack of discipline given to the boy and thought he got special treatment because of being a football player.
Gianfrancesco’s daughter is on the Taylor volleyball team and was initial removed from the team, but then it was decided that she could remain after completing punishment running this month. When trying to work with the administration, he says he kept getting the “run around,” and that’s why he chose to address the Board last night.
“While these definitions are detailed and precise, I can’t help but wonder why we have them if school administrators can arbitrarily call such incidents something else,” says Danny Gianfrancesco. “How can anyone feel safe at a school when a clear case of assault takes place, but the school decides to label it as mutual.”
In his address, Gianfrancesco asks how is participation determined?
Over 3,000 parents signed a petition expressing their concerns over the District’s response to this fight and others like it.
Currently, the Katy ISD disciplinary policy doesn’t have a “self-defense” clause, something that Gianfrancesco feels needs to be considered.
“My daughter didn’t swing on him at all,” says Gianfrancesco. “It’s straight up sexual harassment that turned into retaliation and a physical assault on my daughter and she should not be punished she should not have any consequences.”
President of the Board, Victor Perez has called for the District to compile a report on assault cases and assess cases that could be labeled “self-defense.” This study will help determine if the policy needs to be revisited.
Several parents spoke out last night over their concerns for the current policies. Some specifically called on the protection of teachers and to let them be allowed to help break up fights.
“I just feel like my daughter is getting a raw deal on this because their handbook clearly states if assaulted find a teacher,” says Gianfrancesco. “A teacher was three feet away and that teacher was absolutely useless.”
This concern is addressed in the petition where parents want there to be mandatory training for teachers and staff on violence prevention and how to respond if a fight does occur.
“Disciplinary procedures are designed to maintain safe campuses for everyone, but when they are inconsistently applied or ignored all together it leads to disorder,” says Gianfrancesco. “Who holds administrators accountable?”
“The school is not worried about my daughter,” says Gianfrancesco. “They’re worried about publicity and their football program.”