The Texas Senate last week advanced to the House a bill that would require the state to create a registry of people who may not be hired by public or private schools.
The measure would create a statewide registry maintained by the Texas Education Agency. It would list people, including former school employees, who the agency determined had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a student, committed a serious crime against another person, or engaged in other prohibited misconduct. It is aimed at preventing teachers who have committed misconduct from going from one school to another, a practice often referred to as “passing the trash.”
Available to both public and private schools, the registry would cost the state about $900,000 over the next two years to set up and maintain.
The TEA has an online database that allows the public to see whether a teacher’s certification has been sanctioned. It contains very little information and is limited to educators who have teaching licenses. Private schools, charter schools, and some school districts with permission from the state can hire teachers who aren’t certified.
