A former Weatherford High School math teacher is sitting in the Parker County Jail on a $50,000 bond, accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old student just days before the district's students head back to class. Chase Liles resigned from Weatherford ISD on Wednesday, one day before his arrest, according to school district officials.
Weatherford police were first notified of the allegations last Thursday, when Child Protective Services told officers that Liles was accused of exchanging inappropriate text messages with a student, according to a police Facebook post cited by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Weatherford police went on to determine that the student was 17 years old, the outlet reported. District officials said privacy laws prevent them from sharing further details about the case, and that they did not disclose information sooner because the investigation was still ongoing.
The arrest lands less than a week before Weatherford Independent School District's official first day of school for the 2026–2027 year, set for next Wednesday, according to Weatherford ISD. Campuses across the district were in the middle of staff orientation and student schedule pick-ups the same week the arrest became public. Weatherford ISD serves roughly 8,000 students across 12 campuses about 20 miles west of Fort Worth, with Weatherford High School functioning as the district's main secondary campus, per the district's own back-to-school materials.
Certification Still Listed as Valid
As of August 6, Liles' teaching license was still listed as valid in the state educator database, the Star-Telegram reported. Texas Education Agency records relayed by FOX 4 News show the 38-year-old's certificate was issued effective January 2025 and set to expire in December 2030. Weatherford ISD officials said they worked closely with Weatherford police throughout the process and notified both the State Board for Educator Certification and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
Those notifications weren't optional. Under Texas administrative code updated through Senate Bill 571, superintendents are legally required to report educator misconduct to the Texas Education Agency within seven business days of an employee resigning or being terminated during an investigation, according to the Texas Association of School Boards. Campus principals, meanwhile, must report evidence of misconduct to their superintendent within 48 hours. Districts can face administrative penalties for failing to meet those reporting windows.
Why the Student's Age Doesn't Change the Charge
Because the student was 17, some readers might assume the case falls outside the state's general age of consent — but Texas law doesn't work that way for school employees. Under Section 21.12 of the Texas Penal Code, an educator can be charged with an improper relationship with a student regardless of the student's age, since student consent is not recognized as a legal defense given the authority dynamic between school staff and enrolled students, according to Dunham & Jones. The statute classifies an improper relationship between an educator and a student as a second-degree felony, carrying a punishment range of 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per Goldstein & Orr. A felony conviction under the statute also triggers permanent revocation of a teaching credential.
Felony cases originating from Weatherford Police Department investigations in Parker County are typically routed through the 43rd District Court in Weatherford, presided over by District Judge Craig Towson, with District Attorney Jeff Swain serving as the jurisdiction's chief felony prosecutor — the same court and prosecutorial framework Hoodline detailed in its coverage of a Parker County child assault case sentenced last December. It remains an open question whether a Parker County grand jury has formally indicted Liles or whether investigators identified any additional communications or victims during the joint inquiry between Weatherford police and CPS.
A Statewide Pattern of Reported Misconduct
Liles' case surfaces amid a broader statewide push for transparency around educator misconduct. The Texas Education Agency launched a public Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard in June, which showed the agency received 13,390 misconduct reports during the first eight months of fiscal year 2026 — an average of about 1,674 reports per month, according to Click2Houston. Of the state's active investigations, 15 percent, or 1,694 cases, involved inappropriate sexual or romantic relationships or inappropriate communications with students, per data reported by 660AM The Answer, though direct physical harm and violence still represented the largest overall category of complaints statewide.
Between September 2024 and May 2026, the State Board for Educator Certification issued 1,768 formal sanctions against Texas educators, with classroom teachers accounting for 77 percent of all disciplinary actions, the same Click2Houston report noted. Those sanctions range from reprimands and temporary suspensions to permanent license revocation. No additional details about the specific allegations against Liles have been released as the investigation continues.
