AUSTIN, Texas — A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit against a Spanish immersion preschool in southwest Austin.
On Wednesday, the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced it has secured a $250,000 settlement in a case against Austin Eco Bilingual School.
Paxton’s office filed the suit in 2021, accusing the school and its founder, Adriana Rodriguez, of labor trafficking, claiming that victims were placed in a “dangerously mismanaged” day care that “showed total disregard for immigration, labor and child licensing laws.”
In the suit, the state claimed the school’s owners lured foreign-born employees to Texas and paid them low wages while coercing them by threatening to have them deported or separating them from their families if they didn’t work.
According to court records, Rodriguez threatened trafficked employees by highlighting her connections to high-ranking law enforcement and other government officials, with one of the victims quoting Rodriguez as allegedly saying, “I am a very important person, and I can destroy you whenever I choose.”
“This settlement will ensure that no one is subjected to the horrors of human trafficking or unlawful labor practices,” Paxton said in a news release announcing the settlement. “The actions alleged in the lawsuit were despicable and I am pleased to have secured justice for the victims. I will use every tool at my disposal to prevent companies from operating unlawful labor trafficking schemes using imported foreign workers.”
The settlement included a “No Admission” clause, which means the defendants in the case deny any wrongdoing and agree to settle. Attorneys for Austin Eco Bilingual claim their clients accepted the settlement in order to avoid paying costs to go to trial.
Paxton’s lawsuit initially sought to close the school, but an attorney for the school said it is still operating and its licensing was not affected by the settlement.