Texas senators consider $10,000 fine for superintendents who don’t report suspected sexual misconduct ...Middle East

AUSTIN (KXAN) – At a Senate committee meeting on Tuesday, lawmakers showed bipartisan support for multiple bills that would increase penalties for school leaders who fail to report suspected sexual abuse and a bill sparked by a KXAN investigation, which would increase the Texas Education Agency’s authority to investigate school contractors accused of unlawful acts.

During the public hearing, where multiple witnesses detailed their personal experiences with sexual misconduct on a school campus, Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said he planned to introduce a newer version of Senate Bill 571 – which is aimed at fixing issues with state databases that track misconduct.

SB 571 was filed as a direct result of a KXAN investigation that found a former Texas Juvenile Justice Corrections Officer was able to get a job as an Austin ISD tutor despite TJJD’s Office of Inspector General already determining he had an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile.

In an interview with KXAN in 2024, Sen. Bettencourt said the situation demonstrated a "failure" and promised the problem would be addressed in the 89th legislative session.

“I passed the first inappropriate school-teacher relationship bill back in 2017, and this next 60 pages is going to close every loophole that we can even think of or know of at the Texas Education Agency,” Bettencourt said during the public hearing on Tuesday. “We are going to keep going at this until we stamp this out.”

Sen. Kevin Sparks, R-Midland, also laid out Senate Bill 1224, which would require superintendents to report sexual misconduct, abuse, and other unlawful acts to county and municipal law enforcement instead of allowing internal school police departments to handle the investigation.

Under the bill, a superintendent could face a state jail felony if the report is not made within 48 hours, and the State Board of Educator Certification could levy a $10,000 fine on the school leader for failure to report.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who said he was in favor of the bill, expressed concern that the requirements did not extend to private schools in the state. Sen. Sparks said his office would work with Sen. West’s office to potentially amend the bill.

“There is always a reluctance to hold private schools to the same standards as it relates to public schools, but on this particular issue, all schools need to be held to the same standard,” West said.

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