Bill to curb teacher-student relationships nears final OK,
Superintendents and principals could face charges under bill.
The Texas House tentatively approved a Senate bill on Monday that would crack down on the rising number of improper relationships between teachers and students. Final passage is expected Tuesday.
Among the biggest provisions in Senate Bill 7, filed by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and which has moved swiftly through both chambers so far: A superintendent or principal who intentionally fails to report teacher misconduct would be charged with a state jail felony. If the superintendent or principal fails to report such misconduct unintentionally, they would have to pay a $500 fine under the bill.
“Crimes victimizing children are an incomparable kind of evil,” said Rep. Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, who tacked on an amendment to SB 7 to revoke the pension of a teacher convicted of an improper relationship with a student.
He said that teachers convicted of felony crimes involving students receive on average $41,000 a year toward their pension.
Other provisions of the bill include:
■ A teacher could be charged with improper relationship with a student regardless of where the student attends school.
■ A teacher’s teaching license would be automatically revoked if he or she must register as a sex offender or receives a deferred adjudication of guilt.
■ Principals, not just superintendents, would have to report teacher misconduct to the Texas Education Agency.
A half dozen or so amendments were added to SB 7. One requires teaching job applicants to sign a pre-employment affidavit that certifies that the applicant had never been charged with an improper relationship with a child.
Another amendment provides notification to the parents of the alleged student victim in the relationship.
The number of reported cases of improper relationships between teachers and students has grown 80 percent in the past eight years. Last year, the TEA opened 222 new cases. Between Sept. 1 and April 1, the agency opened 159 cases, surpassing the total during the same period last year by about 40 percent.