Diane “Betsy” Cornwell, the longtime Austin theater teacher at the center of state and federal lawsuits filed by former students, reportedly died this month of natural causes. The instructor’s death coincided with the start of classes for the Austin Independent School District, one year after she left the classroom amid allegations of misconduct.
The district put Cornwell on paid administrative leave after nine former students alleged in court filings that the teacher had subjected them to emotional abuse, encouraged them to perform sexual acts on each other, and created a hostile educational environment at James Bowie High School. Cornwell was still an employee of the district as of June, but district officials did not respond to inquiries about whether she had been cleared to teach again.
Cornwell had led the Bowie theater department—known as the “Starlight Theater Company”—since the school opened in 1988. In 2022, the school district announced that a new fine arts building on the campus would be named after Cornwell, whose name was “synonymous with the program,” according to a supportive resolution from the campus advisory council. The theater program was renowned across the state, and students were even invited to perform internationally more than once during Cornwell’s tenure. To those on the outside, the tight-knit program seemed to be a place where students were thriving.
