A first grade bilingual teacher in Splendora Independent School District is accused of sexually assaulting a child.
Rene Jesus Tavera Arango, 70, was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years in prison.
Tavera began teaching Dual Language classes to first graders at Peach Creek Elementary in the 2023-24 school year.
In a July 2023 social media post about his hiring, Tavera said he was born in Mexico City, worked for the Mexican government for almost 20 years, and became a bilingual teacher in Texas through an “alternative certificate” as an “EC-6 Bilingual Generalist in Region 4.”
Tavera wrote in the post that he started teaching fifth grade, then “for the following 10 years I taught Kindergarten, and then Pre-K.”
“All these years have been marvelous for me as a teacher,” he added in the 2023 post. “This year I was lucky enough to be hired by Splendora ISD, where I plan to be a great Teacher with the Wildcat Team.”
Splendora ISD notified parents and guardians last week that an unnamed school employee was placed on administrative leave and later arrested over alleged “inappropriate conduct.”
Today, we want to inform you about a serious matter involving a district employee at Peach Creek Elementary School.
Splendora ISD was made aware of an allegation of inappropriate conduct involving a minor.
Immediately, the employee was placed on administrative leave, and the matter was referred to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. Today, we learned that the employee has been formally charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child.
While we know this news is difficult, please be assured that Splendora ISD will continue to cooperate fully with authorities and remain vigilant in upholding the highest standards of safety and trust. The well-being of our students is our top priority.
Texas Scorecard has asked Splendora ISD when the district was made aware of the allegations and if the alleged victim was a student in the district.
Splendora ISD is a D-rated district in Montgomery County. A quarter of the district’s 5,600 students are “emergent bilingual/English learners.”
State records show Tavera has held a Texas educator certificate since 2012. His current certificate is valid through November 2025 and is under review by the Texas Education Agency.
Online government payroll records show Tavera previously taught in Cleveland ISD.
Tavera was booked into the Montgomery County Jail on September 11 and released the next day on a $250,000 bond. According to arrest records, he is married.
He is among hundreds of Texas educators accused of sex crimes involving students and other children in just the past few years.
Thousands of educator sexual misconduct complaints have been reported to the TEA since the agency began keeping organized records in 2021.
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