Pedestrians walk past the parking lot of the Cesar Chavez Learning Center in Dallas, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez/AP
Three North Texas schools were once dedicated to Cesar Chavez. But after sexual assault allegations swept the country, districts are heeding to calls to sever ties and renaming them.
Dallas, Fort Worth and Little Elm ISDs are distancing themselves from the disgraced labor leader. Chavez was remembered for securing better wages and working conditions for farmhands in the 1960s but now faces sexual assault allegations. He died in 1993 at age 66.
In March, The New York Times published an investigation describing Chavez’s alleged sexual abuse of two underage girls. He also allegedly assaulted Dolores Huerta, with whom he co-founded the United Farm Workers, according to the article.
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Related: Dallas ISD and Fort Worth ISD named schools after Cesar Chavez. Will they sever ties?
The nation is trying to make sense of Chavez’s legacy in light of the investigation. Local, state and national politicians called for his name to be stripped from schools, streets and buildings.
Texas leaders have quickly adopted some changes. In April, the Dallas City Council voted to remove Cesar Chavez Day from the city’s calendar and designated April 10 as Dolores Huerta Day.
Other changes are still underway. Here’s where things stand with North Texas schools.
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Dallas ISD
Dallas ISD trustees will consider renaming Cesar Chavez Learning Center to East Dallas Elementary School at its June board meeting.
After fielding name suggestions, a campus leadership group narrowed them down to three, according to school board president Joe Carreón, who represents the area that includes Cesar Chavez Learning Center. Then, the school community voted, and a recommendation was submitted for school board approval.
Typically, the board reviews proposals to rename schools in February and votes in March. The allegations against Chavez arose in March, meaning trustees must waive the traditional procedure to fast-track the renaming.
“The naming process is cyclical. It comes one time a year,” Carreón said. “We anticipate to bring it outside of the cycle, given the sensitive nature of the issue.”
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If approved, the new name will go into effect in the upcoming school year.
Trustees are also weighing whether to update language to the district’s renaming process. Proposed changes specify: renaming an existing school “shall occur only when there is a demonstrated and compelling rationale,” according to board documents.
Reasons include a “misalignment with the current community served,” “documented community concern or harm associated with the existing name,” and “a substantial opportunity to better reflect the geographic or cultural identity of the school community.”
Fort Worth ISD
The board of managers unanimously voted to rename Cesar Chavez Elementary School to Esperanza Elementary School in May. “Esperanza” translates to “hope.”
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The district gathered input from families, staff, alumni and more. Name suggestions were narrowed from ten, to three, to finally, one. Principal Monica Ordaz submitted the recommendation on May 15.
Ahead of the vote, board member Rosa Maria Berdeja initially raised hesitations, citing local policy. “Esperanza” is not based on a real person who made prominent contributions to the public, she said.
Another member, Luis Galindo, said that the school’s wishes should be honored.
“It is not a fictional character. It is simply an expression of hope,” he said. “Very appropriate, I think, for our times. Very appropriate for the work we’re doing in the school district.”
The board suspended policy to allow the renaming to pass.
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Little Elm ISD
Little Elm ISD board of trustees voted to approve renaming Cesar Chavez Elementary to Little Elm Elementary in April.
“As you know, there’s been discussion on the name and the things that come with that,” said Superintendent Michael Lamb during the board meeting.
The transition to the new name “will begin immediately,” with updating signage and materials “taking place over time,” the district said in a Facebook post.
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The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.