DO NOT
HIRE
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What Noncertified Educators and District Employees Should Know About TEA’s New Process for Investigating Alleged Misconduct BY PAUL TAPP, ATPE MANAGING ATTORNEY
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ne of the Texas Legislature’s more significant actions in 2019 was creating a system to investigate alleged misconduct by noncertified educators and establishing a “Do Not Hire” registry that lists the names of individuals who, because of their actions, are not allowed to work in public education. Because there is a high correlation between certification and employment contracts, these changes will mostly affect at-will employees who have a serious allegation made against them. Additionally, these changes will likely affect how allegations are handled locally. We’ve broken down the latest changes and provided a timeline of how we got here.
STEPS IN A TEA INVESTIGATION OF NONCERTIFIED SCHOOL STAFF STEP 1: Employer required to notify TEA of allegation Public school district superintendents are required to report an allegation of abuse, an unlawful act with a student or minor, or the solicitation of a romantic relationship with a student or minor within seven days of the employee resigning or being terminated. (The reporting requirement for certified educators has not changed and continues to be more extensive, requiring a report in more circumstances; however, 2019’s Senate Bill (SB) 1476 also establishes that a report for a certified educator is not required if the local investigation clears the certified educator.) SB 1230 expands the reporting requirement to private schools. Private schools are now also required within seven days of the employee resigning or being terminated to report criminal history, as well as report allegations of abuse, unlawful acts with a student or minor, or the solicitation of a romantic relationship. A superintendent who fails to file a required report is subject to discipline and possible criminal prosecution. The district is required to ATPE NEWS 13
