A newspaper investigation has found the Texas Education Agency doesn’t track if a teacher has been charged with or convicted of a crime.
The Austin American-Statesman found that in many cases, school districts keep the information secret, and teachers are allowed to take other teaching jobs or positions where they are in contact with children.
Lawmakers have proposed bills that would make superintendents and principals subject to at least a Class A misdemeanor for failing to report allegations of teacher misconduct to the state education agency. The bills also call for training that would help teachers understand proper teacher-student boundaries and recognizing and reporting sexual misconduct between teachers and students.
They are also proposing legislation that would stop teachers’ resigning from a school district amid allegations of misconduct with students and moving on to another teaching job.
