The Texas Education Agency has added 21 more individuals to the state’s “Do Not Hire” Registry, blocking them from working in any Texas public school amid ongoing concerns about student safety and educator misconduct.
Among the 21 individuals listed is Academy ISD bus driver William Blackburn, who was accused of sexually abusing a female student for 10 months. He was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child by sexual contact, and indecency with a child by exposure.
Also included is Shonterrich Johnson, who was charged with having an improper relationship with a student after sending sexually explicit texts. Johnson worked as an assistant principal of instruction at the IDEA Parmer Park charter school in Austin.
Jherson Manuel-Ramos, a teacher in Bonham ISD who admitted to soliciting a student for sex and was sentenced to seven years in prison followed by deportation, has also been added to the list.
“Thanks to the swift and decisive actions of our investigations division and law enforcement partners, these individuals have been removed from Texas public schools,” said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath.
“Student safety is our top priority, and these actions prevent individuals who have been accused of a crime from being allowed in our schools while criminal proceedings are pending.”
The state’s Do Not Hire Registry is a public database of people ineligible to work in Texas public schools because of serious misconduct or disqualifying criminal history.
Once listed, these individuals cannot be hired in any role—certified educator, contractor, or non-certified employee—at a Texas school district, charter school, regional service center, or shared services arrangement.
Created in response to House Bill 3 and fully launched in 2020, the Do Not Hire Registry compiles cases where the State Board for Educator Certification or the commissioner has found substantiated abuse, inappropriate relationships with students, certain violent or sexual offenses, or other serious misconduct.
Names in the system can be flagged as “under investigation” or “not eligible for hire,” with the latter designation permanently barring them from employment in any Texas public school.
State law now requires every district and open-enrollment charter school to check the Do Not Hire Registry before hiring any employee or contractor who will have access to students, and to immediately discharge anyone on staff who is later added to the list.
“The Do Not Hire Registry is crucial in preventing individuals accused of serious misconduct from moving between school systems and continuing to have access to students,” said Texas’ first Inspector General for Educator Misconduct Levi Fuller. “Our teams are working aggressively, alongside our law enforcement partners, to identify and act on cases that pose a risk to student safety.”
Under legislation passed during the 89th Legislature (Senate Bill 571), superintendents and other heads of educational entities must also annually certify that their systems are using the registry as required.
In addition to using the registry, school officials have mandatory reporting duties when they learn of alleged educator misconduct or certain criminal charges, which TEA uses to determine whether an individual should be added to the list.
Failure to report or to properly screen employees can expose districts to state sanctions and public scrutiny, especially in cases involving sexual misconduct or abuse of students.
TEA has recently paired the registry with new transparency tools, including an Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard and participation in the multi-agency SEMARC database, to give districts more information when screening potential hires.
According to TEA, the Do Not Hire Registry and related tools are intended to make it harder for adults who have harmed or exploited students in one school system to resurface in another. But the system only works if local districts follow the law: they must report suspected misconduct, check the registry before hiring, and certify annually that they are in compliance.
Texas Scorecard has reported on hundreds of Texas school employees accused of sex crimes involving students and other children and maintains a map of known educator sexual misconduct arrests.
Thousands of Texas educators have been reported to the TEA for physical and sexual misconduct.
