A parent’s recording caught a state education investigator stating that multiple felons are working in school districts statewide, and school employees’ records are regularly expunged of misdemeanor or felony charges.
In response to our request for comment, the Texas Education Agency revealed that state law requires they “destroy criminal history information after the information is used for the investigation of a school employee (either certified or uncertified).”
A parent provided Texas Scorecard with a recording of a conversation with an individual identified as Michael Franks, an investigator from the Texas Education Agency.
Texas Scorecard has reviewed the recording. The name of the parent is being withheld to protect the family from retaliation.
The recording began with the parent and the individual they identified as Franks discussing the hiring processes of school districts, specifically background checks.
“There are, what, 300,000 plus teachers in the state,” explained Franks. “The number of convicted felons that work in districts across the state, there’s a lot of them.”
Franks pointed out that these felons have not been convicted of assault, sexual abuse, or child abuse. A possible type of felony offense mentioned was Driving While Intoxicated.
Franks said that charges against educators often don’t stick. “There are a lot of educators in this state. When they get a charge with [an] offense, whether it be [a] misdemeanor or it’ll be a felony offense, they get those things expunged on a regular basis,” he said.
Franks did mention a “do not hire registry” in Texas education. He said an individual ends up on that list if he or she was convicted of sexual assault or aggravated assault, which he called “Title 5 offenses.” In Texas, Title 5 is the law regarding offenses of one individual against another.
However, Franks said if an individual has a felony conviction outside of that category, they won’t be on the “do not hire” list. “Whether or not a district wants to hire somebody with offenses like that, that’s totally up to the district,” he said. “The only thing the district looks at [i]s saying ‘You gave him a certification? Is he or she on the do not hire registry?’ If they’re not, then the districts are given a lot of leeway about who they hire.”
Franks pointed to a law written by state lawmakers that defines who is placed on the do-not-hire registry: Texas Education Code Sections 22.085 and 22.092.
In their response to Texas Scorecard‘s inquiry, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) did not deny that this conversation took place, or that certain felons are employed by government school districts.
They also wrote that state law requires TEA and the State Board of Educator Certification to “destroy criminal history information after the information is used for the investigation of a school employee (either certified or uncertified).” The section of state law they pointed to says they are prohibited from releasing criminal history information obtained from the FBI except in narrow circumstances. Such circumstances include disclosing it to government school districts, the individual who is the subject of the information, a criminal hearing, or if compelled to disclose by a court order.
The State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC), through the investigatory purview of TEA, has varying degrees of sanctioning authority for school staff, depending on whether a staff member is certified or uncertified. If an SBEC certified educator or non-certified employee is convicted or received deferred adjudication for a crime that does not fall under Texas Education Code (TEC) 22.085, a Texas public school system has employment discretion – either for hiring or retaining the individual. This decision would fall outside the purview of the SBEC and TEA. Based off our evaluation of the transcript that was shared with us, this appears to be what the investigator was trying to convey to the caller. If an individual’s SBEC certificate is suspended because of criminal history or any other reason, an educator may request reinstatement at the end of the term of suspension. At that point, TEA staff will review the request on a case-by-case basis to determine if the individual complied with the terms of the suspension. In any situation, the safety of students and staff is of highest priority.
TEA also stated that those registered as sex offenders, and those convicted or placed on deferred adjudication of Title 5 offenses against those under 18, cannot be employed by government school districts. State law requires they not be hired and such individuals be terminated from school employment.
TEA’s full statement is printed at the end of this article.
Aileen Blachowski of Texas Education 911 wasn’t surprised by Frank’s statements. “Continually, Texas Ed 911 identifies evidence of a two-tiered system of justice at play for school employees. One in which school employees skirt convictions, civil liability, and now—even the normal consequences of having a criminal record, whereas a normal private citizen is not shielded from the criminal, civil, professional, or even civic and social consequences of their criminal actions,” she wrote. “This is unacceptable.”
She warned that the current screening system in the hiring process is flawed. “Based on our research, there are no consequences for lying on pre-employment affidavits. Multiple law enforcement [agents] have also recommended that polygraph tests and psychological evaluations be required before hiring in public education,” she wrote. “We support the measures and will back bills this legislative session that level the two-tiered system of justice and clean up prehiring practices and evaluations. For the $80.6 Billion that Texas spends on education annually, our kids deserve the best educators!”
When issues arise regarding an employee, Franks said Texas government school districts engage in secrecy.
“I will tell you this when it comes to personnel matters, whether or not somebody’s on leave, termination, designation or disciplinary action, you will not find a district within the state of Texas … they’re not gonna tell you anything about an investigation,” Franks said. “You have to trust, and this is the big bold word, trust that they will do what they need to do to ensure that the kids within that school district or his classroom or his campus are being protected. That’s their ultimate goal.”
Brady Gray of Texas Family Project disagreed. “The gall of a TEA investigator to suggest that a parent should simply trust administration to investigate and protect is mind-blowing,” he wrote. Gray listed multiple ways he said government schools have broken parents’ trust:
- Indoctrinating students with gender ideology, pornographic books, and pride flags
- Secretly transitioning children and intentionally keeping that information from parents
- Cross-dressing teachers
- Sexual assaults on students
Additionally, Texas Education 911 has reported that young Texans are not safe in government schools. The research they conducted for two years revealed what they called “state-sponsored child abuse” within the Texas government school system. Educator sexual misconduct and violence against students topped the list of offenses.
“Our public schools have created the situation they’re currently in and it is incumbent upon them to earn back the trust of parents,” Gray wrote. “That won’t be done quickly or easily, but will take transparency and a true repentance of the policies and actions that have led us to this point.”
For his part, in the recording, Franks expressed empathy for the frustrated parents he’s spoken with. “Anytime I talk to the parents, I wish I could help them out and give them some kind of relief and confidence,” he said. “But the best I can do is just give you how the process typically works. And I can assure you that if an educator is in trouble or gets arrested, it comes through us.”
Blachowski criticized allowing those convicted of any type of felony to work in schools. “No one feels safe with felons of any kind being employed in the service of our children. This is deplorable! Do better, Texas!” she stated. “When it comes to teaching children, more is caught than taught, as the saying goes. If the educators model criminal behavior, what do we expect from students?”
If you or anyone you know has information regarding the Texas Education Agency, please contact our tip line: scorecardtips@protonmail.com.
The TEA statement in full is printed below:
| Sending over what I recognize is a bunch of information, but I think all this will help clarify the scope and purpose of the conversation TEA’s investigator had with the concerned caller and allay their concerns regarding individuals eligible to work in a Texas public school. TEA cannot emphasize enough that the safety of students and staff is of highest priority.The State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC), through the investigatory purview of TEA, has varying degrees of sanctioning authority for school staff, depending on whether a staff member is certified or uncertified. If an SBEC certified educator or non-certified employee is convicted or received deferred adjudication for a crime that does not fall under Texas Education Code (TEC) 22.085, a Texas public school system has employment discretion – either for hiring or retaining the individual. This decision would fall outside the purview of the SBEC and TEA. Based off our evaluation of the transcript that was shared with us, this appears to be what the investigator was trying to convey to the caller.
If an individual’s SBEC certificate is suspended because of criminal history or any other reason, an educator may request reinstatement at the end of the term of suspension. At that point, TEA staff will review the request on a case-by-case basis to determine if the individual complied with the terms of the suspension. In any situation, the safety of students and staff is of highest priority. However, there are instances where an individual is prohibited from employment in a Texas public school system, and therefore placed on the Do Not Hire Registry. The Texas Education Code 22.085 requires a Texas public school system to discharge or refuse to hire a person if they are:
Additional Background Information on SBEC/TEA Investigative and Enforcement Jurisdiction
TEA does not have the statutory authority to investigate other types of allegations levied against non-certified employees (another point the investigator was trying to convey). Additional Background Information Texas Government Code 411.090 and 411.0901
I hope this information proves helpful and provides the appropriate clarification. |
