A Grand Prairie special education teacher arrested in March for an improper relationship between a teacher and student has now been indicted by a Dallas County grand jury.
Rebecca Goerdel was in her second year as a special education teacher at the Young Men’s Leadership Academy at Kennedy Middle School when she was arrested after school on March 10 for soliciting an eighth-grade student.
An arrest warrant alleges that Geordel “sat on his lap in her car and they made out,” but never had sex, according to an arrest warrant.
The warrant alleges that the relationship began when Goerdel sent a photo of herself naked in a tanning bed to the student and asked him to draw a portrait of her in January.
Police later discovered sexually explicit text conversations between Goerdel and the student, some of which came from “third party apps that have since been deleted.” On March 11, an officer texted Goerdel from the student’s phone and she responded asking him to spend the night with her.
Goerdel never returned to the classroom after her arrest earlier this year.
Grand Prairie ISD released the following statement on her indictment Wednesday:
“We are pleased that law enforcement has doggedly pursued this matter and that Goerdel is being held responsible for her conduct. The safety of our students is among the highest priorities of the Grand Prairie Independent School District and that starts in the classroom. We believe the teacher-student relationship is sacred. It reflects a vow from teachers to parents that their children are safe -- as safe as they would be at home. When a teacher in Grand Prairie ISD breaks that vow, he or she will be dealt with quickly and aggressively.”
