Former Texas Wesleyan University Students Sue School Over Wrongful Dismissal

Lawsuit says university arbitrarily failed doctoral students out of program

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Five former students in Texas Wesleyan University’s Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program have filed a lawsuit against the school alleging wrongful dismissal due to what they call a fraudulent and discriminatory over-enrollment scheme.

These students joined Texas Wesleyan’s nurse anesthesia program to pursue careers as certified registered nurse anesthetists, or CRNAs. CRNAs are mandated to hold a doctoral degree in either nursing or nurse anesthesia to practice.

According to the university, Texas Wesleyan graduates about 10% of the nation’s CRNAs, and is by far the largest CRNA program in the U.S. according to class size.

According to the lawsuit, each year the university accepts approximately 10% more students into its program than it has clinical site placements under contract for second- and third-year students. Plaintiffs say the school systematically fails certain first-year students and dismisses them from the program without transparency or due process.

The lawsuit alleges the university unjustly profits from these students by collecting the costs associated with the full first year of the program before the wrongful dismissals. Eight students, or 7% of the 2024-2025 class cohort, including the plaintiffs, were dismissed.

“The evidence will show dismissal from this program means that these students’ CRNA careers are permanently derailed,” says attorney Jon Velie of Plano, Texas-based Velie Global Law Firm, which represents the plaintiffs. “No equivalent program will accept a student with an academic dismissal on their record.”

The university requires two anatomy and physiology courses in the first year of the program. The lawsuit alleges Texas Wesleyan uses these courses to “gatekeep” students from reaching the clinicals portion of their studies through extreme secrecy regarding grades, retroactive exam question changes, and retroactive grade changes.

The plaintiffs, who were in good academic standing aside from these two courses, say A&P Instructor Dr. James Schmidt did not post grades in a timely manner or even return graded exams. They also say the courses’ final exam results, worth 25% of the final grade, were never posted, despite being the basis for their dismissals.

The plaintiffs say this lack of communication, along with repeated misdirection, led them to believe they were passing the course until soon after the spring final exams, when they unexpectedly received calls from Dr. Schmidt informing them they had failed his final exam and were therefore dismissed from the program. However, no numeric grades were ever provided to them.

One plaintiff alleges that after Dr. Schmidt informed her of her dismissal, he falsely told her there was no appeals process for graduate students.

Another plaintiff says her final posted overall grade was a passing “C.” When she asked the program’s director to reverse her dismissal, the director said the grade was a “clerical error” and would be retroactively changed. The grade later appeared as a “D.”

Each of the plaintiffs have disabilities for which they received routine accommodations, or they experienced an unexpected medical emergency during the program and were then misdirected and denied accommodations. Based on the numbers, lawyers say it appears that students with disabilities were disproportionately targeted for wrongful dismissal.

The lawsuit says each plaintiff sought to appeal their dismissals but faced difficulty when Texas Wesleyan blocked access to their own education records during the appeal preparation period, violating the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, FERPA.

According to the lawsuit, each plaintiff submitted lengthy, individualized documents with substantial exhibits to appeal their dismissals, all of which were ultimately met with brief and generic denials.

The plaintiffs are seeking reinstatement in the program and financial compensation for lost potential earnings, emotional and economic damages, and legal expenses.

The case is Castro et al. v. Texas Wesleyan University, No. 4:26-cv-01272 in the United States Northern District Court of Texas, Fort Worth Division.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jon Velie and Kurt Elieson of Velie Global Law Firm, PLLC and Amelia Lafont of Law Office of A. Lafont, PLLC.