Latest news with #SB571
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
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. 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas bills rooting out ‘bad actors' from schools, sparked by KXAN investigation, advance
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas has a new law aimed at rooting out 'bad actors' from educational settings, with another in the works. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill from Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, on Monday. Senate Bill 1437 allows the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to designate former employees or volunteers permanently ineligible for certification if they engage in conduct that threatens juvenile safety. It takes effect Sept. 1. The bill comes after a KXAN investigation found records showing the Texas Juvenile Justice Department allowed former Juvenile Corrections Officer Isaiah Smith, who was being investigated for sexual misconduct at the Giddings facility, to resign and remain eligible for hire weeks after firing him. Records show that as part of a settlement agreement with Smith, TJJD agreed to change his termination, which rendered him ineligible for rehire, to show that he resigned 'for personal reasons.' The agency also reclassified Smith as eligible for hire in its database, which is accessible to other county juvenile facilities. Records show TJJD did not reverse its decision until more than a year after the settlement, in December 2023, after Smith was arrested and charged with indecency with a minor at an Austin Independent School District high school. Sen. Bettencourt filed another bill, Senate Bill 571, as a direct result of KXAN's investigation into Smith. The House Public Education committee reported the bill favorably on Friday, and it is expected to go before the full House for a vote. KXAN uncovered that Smith got a tutoring job at the Austin ISD high school through nonprofit Austin Partners in Education, despite the TJJD Office of Inspector General already determining he had an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile. Records show that during his time tutoring on an Austin ISD campus, he was arrested on allegations that he inappropriately touched a student. The non-profit that hired Smith did not have immediate access to TJJD's database, which typically contains information about suspected misconduct. The non-profit also told KXAN that Smith did not disclose that he had previously worked at the state agency during the hiring process. Even now, the Texas Education Agency's publicly available Do Not Hire list does not list Smith because Commissioner Morath says his agency has no statutory authority to investigate or place third-party contractors on its misconduct registry. Austin tutor's arrest reveals 'cracks' in how Texas vets school employees Sen. Bettencourt initially said he filed SB 571 to close those loopholes. The bill allowed third-party non-profits to access the state's database, the Interagency Reportable Conduct Search Engine, which will eventually house multiple agencies' state misconduct records. More than two years after lawmakers greenlit the project, the database is still not operational. SB 571 also authorized TEA to investigate third-party contractors for misconduct and place them on its Do Not Hire registry. The legislation has since been expanded to a 72-page bill that, in his own words, attempts to 'close all the loopholes at one time.' 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 students. 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. The bill has received criticism over a newer provision making reports and other 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. The bill summary says the confidentiality provision was added because 'current law requires seeking an [Attorney General] opinion' each time on whether the records are releasable. 'When Texas is in crisis with the growing number of educator misconduct events, we should not be hiding any record related to educator misconduct from the public,' Amy Ratleff from Plano wrote in public comments to the Texas House on the bill. Man accused of molesting child while tutoring at Austin ISD Austin tutor's arrest reveals 'cracks' in how Texas vets school employees Juvenile officers' do-not-hire status initially reversed amid sexual misconduct investigation Texas man's job history before sex abuse conviction highlights background check gaps Former Austin ISD tutor and juvenile corrections officer faces more charges of indecency with children Texas Senate bill seeks to expand access to state misconduct records after KXAN investigation Texas senators consider $10,000 fine for superintendents who don't report suspected sexual misconduct The bill, headed for a floor vote in the House, includes the confidentiality provision. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Abbott signs bill to close ‘Do Not Hire' loopholes, another advances
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two bills that could close loopholes in Texas' 'Do Not Hire' registry advanced this week, but one is still up against the clock of sine die. Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who authored Senate Bill 571 and Senate Bill 1437, said that he introduced SB 571 'after a contractor in Austin was found working around students despite a history of misconduct.' Previous: Texas senators consider $10,000 fine for superintendents who don't report suspected sexual misconduct 'These bills make sure misconduct gets flagged and stopped-no more passing the trash that allows predators to reappear in other educational or juvenile justice roles,' said Bettencourt in a Friday press release. As KXAN previously reported, SB 571 was filed as a direct result of a KXAN investigation. That investigation uncovered that a former Texas Juvenile Justice corrections officer got a tutoring job at an Austin ISD campus through a nonprofit, despite the TJJD Office of Inspector General already determining he had an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile. 'It was your station's reporting that showed there was a problem with subcontractors and that started us to say alright, if we got one problem, let's figure out every possible way that people are avoiding being put on the do not hire registry if they're sexual predators of our kids,' said Bettencourt in an April 10 KXAN interview. Texas Senate bill seeks to expand access to state misconduct records after KXAN investigation SB 571 passed the Senate by a vote of 30-1 on Thursday, but still needs to pass a House committee vote by May 24 and a floor vote before May 28. Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 1437 into law Wednesday. It expands the Texas Juvenile Justice Department's authority to block some applicants, volunteers and contractors from working with children in the state's custody. 'Predators should not be able to leapfrog from one juvenile facility to another just because they don't hold a specific certification,' said Bettencourt in response to the signing. 'Kids in the juvenile system deserve the same protections as students in classrooms.' SB 1437 goes into effect on September 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas senators consider $10,000 fine for superintendents who don't report suspected sexual misconduct
AUSTIN (KXAN) – At a Senate committee meeting on Tuesday, lawmakers showed bipartisan support for legislation 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. Austin tutor's arrest reveals 'cracks' in how Texas vets school employees In an interview with KXAN in 2024, Sen. Bettencourt said the situation demonstrated a 'failure' and promised to address the problem 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. Juvenile officer's do-not-hire status initially reversed amid sexual misconduct 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
