89R13384 MEW-D
By: Hinojosa of Hidalgo S.B. No. 2667
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reporting of private school educator misconduct;
providing an administrative penalty; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.0061(a), Education Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The board of trustees or governing body of a school
district, district of innovation, private school, open-enrollment
charter school, other charter entity, regional education service
center, or shared services arrangement shall adopt a policy under
which notice is provided to the parent or guardian of a student with
whom an educator is alleged to have engaged in misconduct described
by Section 21.006(b)(2)(A) or (A-1) or Section 21.0062(b)(2)(A) or
(B), as applicable, informing the parent or guardian:
(1) that the alleged misconduct occurred;
(2) whether the educator was terminated following an
investigation of the alleged misconduct or resigned before
completion of the investigation; and
(3) whether a report was submitted to the State Board
for Educator Certification concerning the alleged misconduct.
SECTION 2. Section 21.0062(a)(2), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(2) "Private school educator" means a person employed
by [or seeking employment in] a private school for a position in
which the person would be required to hold a certificate issued
under Subchapter B if the person were employed by a school district.
SECTION 3. Section 21.0062, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) and adding Subsections
(e-1), (e-2), (g-1), (g-2), (j), (k), and (l) to read as follows:
(b) In addition to the reporting requirement under Section
261.101, Family Code, and except as provided by Subsection (e-1),
the chief administrative officer of a private school shall notify
the State Board for Educator Certification if:
(1) a private school educator[:
[(1)] or a person seeking employment at the school for
a position in which the person would be required to hold a
certificate issued under Subchapter B if the person were employed
by a school district has a criminal record and the [private] school
obtained information about the educator's criminal record; or
(2) a private school educator resigned or was
terminated and there is evidence that the educator:
(A) abused or otherwise committed an unlawful act
with a student or minor; [or]
(B) was involved in a romantic relationship with
or solicited or engaged in sexual contact with a student or minor;
(C) possessed, transferred, sold, or distributed
a controlled substance, as defined by Chapter 481, Health and
Safety Code, or by 21 U.S.C. Section 801 et seq.;
(D) illegally transferred, appropriated, or
expended funds or other property of the school;
(E) attempted by fraudulent or unauthorized
means to obtain or alter a professional certificate or license for
the purpose of promotion or additional compensation; or
(F) committed a criminal offense or any part of a
criminal offense on school property or at a school-sponsored event.
(c) If there is evidence that a private school educator may
have engaged in misconduct described by Subsection (b)(2)(A) or
(B), the chief administrative officer of the private school shall
complete an investigation, regardless of whether [(b) and] the
educator resigns from employment before completion of the
investigation[, the chief administrative officer of the private
school shall submit the evidence of misconduct collected to the
State Board for Educator Certification].
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e-1), the [The] chief
administrative officer of the private school must notify the State
Board for Educator Certification by filing a report with the board
not later than the seventh business day after the date the chief
administrative officer knew that a private school educator:
(1) has a criminal record under Subsection (b)(1); or
(2) was terminated following an alleged incident of
misconduct described by Subsection (b)(2).
(e) The report filed under Subsection (d):
(1) must be:
(A) [(1)] in writing; and
(B) [(2)] in a form prescribed by the board; and
(2) may be filed through the Internet portal developed
and maintained by the State Board for Educator Certification under
Subsection (g-2).
(e-1) The chief administrative officer of a private school
is not required to notify the State Board for Educator
Certification or file a report with the board under Subsection (b)
or (d) if the officer:
(1) completes an investigation into a private school
educator's alleged incident of misconduct described by Subsection
(b)(2)(A) or (B) before the educator's termination of employment or
resignation; and
(2) determines the private school educator did not
engage in the alleged incident of misconduct described by
Subsection (b)(2)(A) or (B).
(e-2) The chief administrative officer shall notify the
governing body of the private school and the educator of the filing
of the report required by Subsection (d).
(g-1) The State Board for Educator Certification shall
determine whether to impose sanctions, including an administrative
penalty under Subsection (j), against a chief administrative
officer who fails to file a report in violation of Subsection (d).
(g-2) The State Board for Educator Certification shall
develop and maintain an Internet portal through which a report
required under Subsection (d) may be confidentially and securely
filed.
(j) If an educator serving as a chief administrative officer
is required to file a report under Subsection (d) and fails to file
the report by the date required by that subsection, the State Board
for Educator Certification may impose on the educator an
administrative penalty of not less than $500 and not more than
$10,000. The State Board for Educator Certification may not renew
the certification of an educator against whom an administrative
penalty is imposed under this subsection until the penalty is paid.
(k) A chief administrative officer required to file a report
under Subsection (d) commits an offense if the officer fails to file
the report by the date required by that subsection with intent to
conceal a private school educator's criminal record or alleged
incident of misconduct. An offense under this subsection is a state
jail felony.
(l) The commissioner may review the records of a private
school to ensure compliance with the requirement to report
misconduct under this section.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 21, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 21.0063 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.0063. ACCESS TO REPORTS OF ALLEGED
MISCONDUCT. (a) In this section, "educator" includes a person
defined as a private school educator under Section 21.0062(a).
(b) The State Board for Educator Certification shall
provide private schools and public schools equivalent access to
reports made under this subchapter concerning the criminal record
or alleged misconduct of an educator.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.