Bill expanding school misconduct investigations, Do-Not-Hire registry heads to governor
AUSTIN (KXAN) – In a 134-2 vote on Tuesday, the Texas House gave initial approval to a bill targeting what Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, called “dangerous loopholes” in the state’s misconduct registries.
Senate Bill 571 is expected to head to the governor’s desk soon.
Sen. Bettencourt vowed to pass a bill during the 89th legislative session to expand access to the state’s Do Not Hire registries and expand the Texas Education Agency’s ability to investigate misconduct following a KXAN investigation.
Our investigation found that a former juvenile corrections officer was able to get a tutoring job at an Austin Independent School District campus, despite the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General already determining he had an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile.
The former corrections officer, Isaiah Xavier Smith, is now in jail in Lee County, facing multiple charges of Indecency with a Minor related to his employment at Giddings State School and his time tutoring on an Austin ISD campus.
Austin ISD officials said non-profit Austin Partners in Education hired Smith and assigned him as a tutor to one of their campuses. The non-profit told KXAN that Smith did not disclose during the hiring process that he was previously employed by TJJD or the allegations he was facing within the agency.
Senate Bill 571
The sweeping 72-page bill allows the Texas Education Agency to compel school districts to report when volunteers, contractors or subcontractors are suspected of misconduct.
The bill would also grant contractors, like Austin Partners in Education, access to the Interagency Reportable Conduct Search Engine. When complete, the search engine will include state misconduct information from several agencies, including TEA, TJJD, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, and Texas Health and Human Services.
The database is not finished despite the legislature approving its creation in 2023.
SB 571 also expands the list of convictions that would result in a mandatory termination and loss of certification to include felony offenses of public indecency or an improper relationship between an educator and a student.
A bill analysis from the Senate Research Center explains that school employees, including third-party service providers, can be placed on TEA’s Do Not Hire registry for inappropriate communications with students, failing to maintain appropriate boundaries with students, or physically mistreating or threatening violence to a student.
The bill has received criticism over a confidentiality provision added to the bill that makes records related to the TEA or the State Board of Education Certification’s review or investigation of a misconduct allegation confidential and not subject to disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act.
