Report cover image Texas Education 911: “State-led child abuse: The scandal of Texas school officials” | Image courtesy of Texas Education 911/Report; Background of the Color of Texas | Image courtesy of Canva
(Texas Scorecard) – A shocking new report reveals a pattern of what researchers call “state-sponsored child abuse” within the Texas public school system. The report documents thousands of complaints of sexual and violent misconduct by teachers and other school employees, most of which go uninvestigated by the state.
Texas Education 911, a parent advocacy group, released “State-Initiated Child Abuse: Texas School Official Misconduct” this week after a two-year investigation.
The group analyzed school employee misconduct reports filed with the Texas Education Agency from September 2021 to July 2024.
Researchers found that in just 34 months, there were 6,888 reports of physical and sexual crimes against students in Texas schools by taxpayer-funded school officials.
Alarming evidence also showed that the vast majority (61%) of these fraud reports were not investigated by the TEA.
TEA Director Mike Moras testified at a Senate Education Committee hearing in September that the agency does not have enough “administrative resources” to review all complaints.
“The statistics presented in this report are more than just numbers; each represents a child who is the victim of an adult employed in Texas schools, but the majority of those children are in schools funded by taxpayers. ” said Eileen Burakowski of Prosper Parent, Texas Education 911.
The data shows that while the number of misconduct reports filed has increased over the years, few complaints have come to the TEA following legal orders to revoke state-issued teaching certifications.
Of the 1,412 accusations of inappropriate sexual relationships between school staff and students, only 14% faced permanent and mandatory revocation of their teaching licenses, according to the report.
“Allowing defendants to surrender their teaching licenses in exchange for responding to an investigation is all too common and should never be tolerated,” the report said.
The report also notes that 30% of newly hired teachers in Texas are unqualified and that pre-hire screening is inadequate.
“This data demonstrates the imperative for stronger precautions, responsible and thorough investigations, and serious enforcement and accountability measures to protect students from harm in our schools,” Burakowski said.
The Texas Education 911 report includes examples of inappropriate misconduct and suggests several solutions to the systemic problems uncovered by the investigation.
“I am confident that this report will open the eyes of our elected leaders to the need for the solutions that parents identified in the 89th Congress,” Burakowski said.
One solution supported by Texas Education 911 would create an independent Office of the Inspector General with the authority to investigate waste, fraud, abuse, and especially physical and sexual abuse of students in taxpayer-funded schools. It is something to do.
Burakowski said the bills introduced so far “do not reflect the group’s goals for such institutions.”
Other changes recommended in the report include:
Reforming employment practices for educators; Innovating fraud reporting and investigation systems and processes to the level of professionalism expected from Texas’ largest companies; Reducing barriers to civil and criminal liability for abusers and those who protect abusers. Eliminate the loopholes that allow criminals in Texas schools to go free, ensuring transparency, accountability, and due process protections for all.
“While we correctly recognize that real educators are not pedophiles, we believe that opportunistic child predators will go to great lengths to find ways to work closely with children. We are seeing the evidence developing,” Burakowski said.
It is long past time to close the loopholes that expose Texas public school children to physical and sexual abuse by school employees. It is time for us to protect Texas children, restore the dignity of the teaching profession, properly recognize the scope and causes of the problem, and work to solve it.
“It’s our mission to protect our children,” she said. “We must end state-sponsored child abuse.”
The full report, “State-led Child Abuse: Misconduct by Texas School Officials,” is available on the Texas Education 911 website.
The Texas Scorecard reported on hundreds of teachers and school employees in Texas who have been charged with sexual crimes and physical assaults against students.
