HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Parents who have raised concerns about alleged abuse in Texas classrooms say a new state database tracking educator misconduct is a step toward greater transparency, but they argue more work is needed to protect students.
The Texas Education Agency this week launched its Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard, a database required by state law that provides information about misconduct reports submitted to the agency, disciplinary actions and educators placed on the state’s Do Not Hire Registry.
Daniel Hall, whose daughter attended Jan Schiff Elementary School in Fort Bend ISD, said he was shocked by what he saw after reviewing video related to allegations involving school employees.
“Never in a million years would I think these teachers would do these things that I saw on camera,” Hall said.
Hall said three employees are no longer with the district after allegedly manhandling his daughter.
Another parent, Maribel Vera, said video showed her nonverbal son, who has autism, being dragged across a carpeted floor at Burton Elementary School. Vera said her concerns prompted an investigation.
“If you guys would see the footage, not even an animal gets treated that way,” Vera said.
The Texas Education Agency says more than one-third of educator misconduct reports directly affect students.
The dashboard shows the agency opened more than 1,000 investigations on average each month, with more than 500 referred to law enforcement.
According to the data, the most common investigations involved some form of violence, accounting for 53% of cases.
Inappropriate relationships or contact with a student made up 15% of investigations, while sexual misconduct accounted for 4%.
The agency reported that 78% of misconduct reports involve direct harm to a student.
Tyrrell Smith, another Burton Elementary parent, said he also viewed video that he believes shows abuse involving his son.
ABC13 has not reviewed the footage or independently verified its contents.
Smith said the allegations have damaged his confidence in the education system.
“I don’t trust the hiring process. I don’t trust the training. I don’t trust the principal,” Smith said. “What is done in the dark will eventually come to light.”
Fort Bend ISD confirmed in April that staff members involved in the alleged abuse of Smith’s son were fired. The district said it is investigating other allegations of abuse in the same classroom.
The dashboard also reflects a sharp increase in reported educator investigations between fiscal years 2025 and 2026.
The data also shows the number of educators added to the state’s Do Not Hire Registry has increased each year this decade. Last year, 589 educators were added to the list.
Parents say the new dashboard provides valuable information, but they believe accountability and oversight remain critical as investigations continue.
This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.
