The Grand Prairie Independent School District is reportedly offering a Native American studies course without proper approval; consequently, the course will not count among the state credits current seniors need to graduate.
Grand Prairie Superintendent Gabe Trujillo is allegedly offering an American Indian/Native Studies course without local school board approval, The Dallas Express has learned.
“The superintendent bypassed local board approval and allowed it to be offered as a state elective credit this semester,” said State Board of Education Member Audrey Young to The Dallas Express. “Unfortunately for the students, this semester will only count as a local elective credit.”
Grand Prairie ISD is offering two sections of the class at Grand Prairie High School, and one section at Dubiski Career High School, according to Young, chair of the SBOE’s Committee on Instruction.
The Dallas Express reached out to Trujillo and several members of the Grand Prairie ISD school board, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
The SBOE renewed the American Indian/Native Studies course for another five years by a vote of 9-5 in late June. As The Dallas Express reported at the time, Grand Prairie ISD was initially piloting the class as an “innovative course.”
Republican board members expressed concern that the course used Critical Race Theory and violated state law, as The Dallas Express reported. Board Member Brandon Hall previously pointed to the course’s ethnic lens on history, use of “land acknowledgments,” and omission of inconvenient facts – calling it “CRT by definition.”
When the SBOE renewed the course in June, it made “multiple changes,” according to Young.
Under Texas Education Agency rules – chapter 74.27(a)8 – districts offering state-approved innovative courses must obtain “approval of the local board of trustees.”
“With multiple changes to the course, it requires updated board approval. The AINS course is not the same innovative course as it was when originally approved,” Young said. “The superintendent failed to request board approval for state elective credit, potentially impacting any senior student who needs a state elective credit to graduate.”
TEA officials have reviewed Grand Prairie ISD board meetings from July and August, and confirmed members have not approved the innovative course for state credit, according to Young. TEA officials also reached out to the district, whose officials have not explicitly confirmed the situation.
A Pattern
Trujillo previously worked as an area superintendent for Grand Prairie ISD from July 2016 to April 2020, according to LinkedIn.
Then he moved to Nacogdoches ISD, where he worked as superintendent from 2020 to April 2025. According to Open Payrolls, Trujillo was the district’s highest-paid employee in 2023, making $210,000, while a handful of other staff and executives also made six-figure salaries.
“During his time at Nacogdoches ISD, Grand Prairie Superintendent Gabe Trujillo worked to bloat the district administration,” Young said. “His laissez-faire academic leadership resulted in failing scores.”
The district earned a TEA accountability rating of “C” in 2022, which fell to a “D” in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Trujillo left Nacogdoches to become Grand Prairie ISD’s superintendent in April 2025.
“We have a lot more ability than what we’re showing on our ratings sometimes,” said Trujillo’s replacement – now-Superintendent Grey Burton – according to KLTV. “Your kids deserve better, we are going to give ‘em better.”
Nacogdoches ISD had 63 percent of its students reading below grade level in the 2024-2025 school year, according to TEA accountability ratings.
“Being a charismatic glad-hander doesn’t improve literacy,” Young said. “Trujillo’s track record at Nacogdoches ISD is a direct reflection of his lack of commitment to student outcomes.”
The TEA plans to notify Nacogdoches ISD on September 26 and is considering next steps to remediate damage resulting from “poor academic leadership,” according to Young.