Forney ISD principal was aware of special education teacher's past arrest, failed to report abuse allegations

FORNEY, Texas - A Forney elementary school principal was aware of a former special education teacher's questionable past involving students when she hired him last October, and reportedly told him she would hire him if he changed his name.

Forney ISD principal arrest

What we know:

Wendy Bailey, the former principal at Crosby Elementary School in Forney ISD, was arrested last week and booked into the Kaufman County Jail.

She has been charged with endangering a child and failure to report.

Jonathan Michael arrest

Dig deeper:

Bailey's arrest comes after the arrest of former Forney ISD special education teacher Jonathan Michael, who was arrested by the Texas Rangers in May and charged with two counts of injury to a child and one count of child grooming.

An arrest affidavit for Bailey reveals she failed to report Michael's alleged behavior while teaching at Crosby Elementary School after two teacher's aides reported Michael inappropriately touched a special needs student in April, and had made sexually explicit comments towards other students.

Investigators say Bailey moved the student to a different classroom and told the child's parents, "We are experiencing other behaviors in the room that required me to move him for safety reasons."

Michael is accused of two other incidents involving physical violence against Crosby Elementary special needs students, including allegedly pushing a student into a bookshelf and pinning a student on the ground with his knee.

Jonathan Michael checkered past under different name

Before Michael's employment by Forney ISD, he was arrested on a charge of indecency to a child with sexual contact while working at Hudson Middle School in Garland ISD. He was later acquitted by a Dallas County jury.

At the time of his employment and arrest in Garland ISD, Jonathan Michael's name was Michael Roell.

Bailey's arrest affidavit states she was aware of Michael Roell's past when a Forney ISD official emailed his resume to schools seeking a special education teacher.

The affidavit states that Bailey responded to Michael Roell's resume with a picture of his mugshot, writing: "No thank you, LOLOLOL! Let's try again:)" in her email.

Phone and email records revealed Bailey still reached out to Michael Roell multiple times in Aug. 2025, and scheduled an interview with Roell for Aug. 20 that was later canceled.

The same day of the canceled interview, Michael Roell legally filed to change his name to Jonathan Michael. 

According to the affidavit, his father told investigators "his son was told by Bailey that she could not hire him under his old name but would if he changed his name." 

After legally changing his name in late Sept. 2025, Jonathan Michael applied to Forney ISD. Bailey recommended him for hire in Oct. 2025.

Bailey told investigators she only held a phone interview with Michael under his previous name and never interviewed him in person.

Bailey's arrest affidavit reveals Michael had been removed from a job with Dallas ISD after a special needs student reported he watched them change clothes in a classroom, though he was never charged.

The affidavit states Michael also lost a briefly-held job in Denton ISD after a parent discovered his past arrest, all prior to his employment in Forney ISD.

What they're saying:

Forney ISD provided the following statement to FOX 4 on Bailey's arrest:

"As this is an active law enforcement matter, we continue to cooperate fully with the investigating agencies."

Dallas ISD and Denton ISD have not responded to FOX 4's request for comment.

What's next:

Bailey has bonded out of jail. No court date has been set.

ForneyCrime and Public SafetyEducation