Gov. Greg Abbott is calling for Texas educators who engage in inappropriate relationships with students to face at least 10 years behind bars, as the state continues grappling with widespread allegations of sexual misconduct in public schools.
Abbott announced the proposal Tuesday, saying more than 1,600 allegations of inappropriate educator-student relationships were reported last year—nearly triple the number from the previous year.
“Clearly, the message has not been received to stop assaulting students in our schools,” said Abbott at a press conference in Lubbock.
Under Abbott’s proposal, educators convicted of inappropriate relationships with students would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The proposal would also prohibit community supervision and deferred adjudication in place of incarceration, prevent parole or mandatory supervision before an offender has served at least 10 years, and require offenders to register as sex offenders.
“In the past, some teachers have had sex with students and got only probation. Not anymore in Texas,” Abbott said.
Texas Scorecard has extensively reported on educators across the state accused of sexual misconduct involving students, as well as concerns about how school districts and state officials respond to such allegations.
Abbott acknowledged that Texas lawmakers have repeatedly attempted to crack down on the problem.
Previous measures have required offenders to lose their teaching certificates and pensions, penalized administrators who fail to properly report misconduct, restricted improper electronic communications between educators and students, and created the state’s Do Not Hire Registry.
Still, Abbott said thousands of violations in recent years demonstrate the need for harsher consequences.
While prosecutors could still negotiate plea agreements under his proposal, Abbott said regardless of whether a conviction resulted from a trial or plea agreement, an offender would have to spend at least a decade incarcerated.
“No more probation, not two years, not five years, but 10 years,” said Abbott.
House Speaker Dustin Burrows joined Abbott at the announcement and pledged that the Texas House would work with the governor during the next legislative session.
“We hear you, we see you. This should not have happened, and we must do better,” Burrows told survivors attending the event. “While we have taken some action, we will take much more.”
After meeting with survivors before the announcement, Abbott said the state should improve efforts to identify warning signs before abuse occurs and provide students with better ways to report concerning behavior.
“We, as legislators, we as adults, need to do a better job of listening to our children in our schools and hear from them about what they are seeing, what they’re hearing, what they are facing,” said Abbott.
He said the state should also ensure educators are trained to recognize warning signs and that the Texas Education Agency responds appropriately to information from school districts concerning potential crimes.
“We want to help students feel safe and more comfortable in reporting those warning signs,” Abbott said. “We will add that to our legislative agenda.”
Abbott said the ultimate objective is not simply punishing offenders but preventing students from becoming victims in the first place.
“The best thing we can do is to have zero children assaulted,” he said. “And the way to do that is through better prevention.”
The push for tougher penalties comes as Texas has also increased its focus on investigating and removing educators accused of misconduct.
Earlier this year, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath appointed Levi Fuller as the state’s first Inspector General for Educator Misconduct, a newly created position within the Texas Education Agency.
