KATY, Texas – The Fort Bend District Attorney’s Office has confirmed the identity of a now-former Katy Independent School District teacher accused of grabbing a student with autism by the collar.
Details about the case were first uncovered through KPRC 2 Help Desk.
ORIGINAL: Former Katy ISD educator under TEA investigation for alleged assault against child with autism
Fady Hanna was charged with assault by contact, a Class C misdemeanor, in May. He was placed on deferred adjudication probation, which included anger management classes, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Hanna’s LinkedIn page states that he was named the campus Teacher of the Year for the 2023–2024 academic year, coinciding with the time he is alleged to have grabbed a 9-year-old student. A January 2024 Facebook post from WoodCreek Elementary School confirms that he was a finalist for the honor.
The Texas Education Agency is investigating Hanna. According to the agency, Hanna holds three Texas Educator Certifications in “core subjects with STR,” “special education,” and “English as a second language supplemental.” All three certifications expire in 2028.
Prior to working at WoodCreek Elementary, Hanna spent a year at Fort Bend ISD as a special education teacher. Before his career in education, he worked in the oil and gas industry for at least seven years.
A Katy ISD police report shared with KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun stated that officers received an anonymous tip about a student being “physically and mentally abused” by staff at WoodCreek Elementary.
Police later received a video allegedly showing the teacher “attempting to hit the student in the face and then proceeding to grab [him] by the collar of his shirt and pull him across the table.”
The cellphone video, captured by a witness in the classroom, appears to show Hanna sitting across the table from the student, lunging toward him, missing, and then attempting to do so again.
“He wasn’t being disruptive in any way, and yet he was still being violent toward my child,” said the student’s parent, Daniela Reinfeld. “This tells me that this was how he would treat these children.”
During the investigation, Reinfeld said Hanna sent her a message stating, “I already left the whole school district. Please don’t destroy the whole career that I built from scratch.”
“He didn’t reach out to even apologize or try to give an explanation of what happened,” Reinfeld said about receiving the message. “He just reached out for his own benefit.”
“The safety and security of students, faculty, and staff is paramount at Katy ISD,” the district said in a statement to KPRC 2. “The individual is no longer an employee of Katy ISD. An investigation was launched as school officials became aware. Once additional evidence became available at a later date, the individual resigned amid the investigation.”
The District Attorney’s Office confirmed that Hanna has completed the conditions of his probation.
