The Texas Education Agency (TEA) licenses, oversees and regulates Texas teachers, superintendents, and other education professionals. This agency ensures that these professionals comply with the laws and regulations that apply to them. The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) is the TEA division that handles educator disciplinary proceedings. They also administer the Do Not Hire Registry, a database of individuals disqualified from employment in public schools.
If you face a complaint or disciplinary proceedings before the TEA, your first call should be to an experienced teaching license defense lawyer. You need legal counsel to help protect your rights, safeguard your license, avoid potential placement on the Do Not Hire Registry, and allow you to continue working as a teacher. Together, you can fight back against the allegations against you and work to resolve your case with minimal effects on your career.
The TEA Do Not Hire Registry
The TEA Registry of Persons Note Eligible for Employment in Public Schools, known as the Do Not Hire Registry, became operative in January 2020. The Texas legislature created the Do Not Hire Registry to list persons available to the public whom the SBEC has disqualified from employment in public schools. Public schools include not only state public school districts, but also districts of innovation, charter schools, regional education service centers, or shared service arrangements.
The TEA places a person’s name on the Do Not Hire Registry when a person has committed a certain type of misconduct or criminal history to the extent that they are ineligible for teaching or educational certificates or their certificates have been revoked. Tex. Edu. Code §22.092 states that certain individuals must be listed on the Do Not Hire Registry:
- A person determined by the SBEC to be ineligible for educator certification based on a national criminal history review for certain open-enrollment charter school employees;
- A person determined by the SBEC to be ineligible for employment as a non-certified employee based on their criminal history record information;
- A person who is ineligible for employment based on criminal history record information received by the SBEC relating to a conviction or placement on deferred adjudication community supervision for some criminal offenses;
- A person whose certification or permit is revoked by the SBEC on a finding that the person engaged in certain types of misconduct; and
- a person determined by the commissioner to have engaged in abuse or misconduct related to a student.
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When the TEA lists an individual’s name on the Do Not Hire Registry, they are designated “under investigation” or “not eligible for hire.” If an SBEC investigation has concluded that the person committed no misconduct or wrongdoing, that person’s name will not appear on the Do Not Hire Registry.
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Reporting Information to the TEA for the Do Not Hire Registry
Tex. Edu. Code §22.093 requires the superintendent or directors of school districts, districts of innovation, open-enrollment charter schools, other charter entities, regional education service centers, or shared services arrangements to report certain circumstances to the TEA. This mandatory reporting requirement furnishes the TEA with the information necessary to include individuals on the Do Not Hire Registry. The misconduct that superintendents and directors must report includes the following:
- An employee’s employment is terminated and there is evidence that the employee:
- Abused or otherwise committed an unlawful act with a student or minor; or
- Was involved in a romantic relationship with or solicited or engaged in sexual contact with a student or minor; or
- The employee resigned, and there is evidence that the employee engaged in the type of misconduct described above.
Furthermore, certain criminal offenses qualify individuals for inclusion on the Do Not Hire Registry. Suppose an individual is convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication or community supervision for certain criminal offenses. In that case, they become ineligible for employment in public schools and must be included in the Do Not Hire Registry. Tex. Edu. Code §22.085 states that the following criminal offenses disqualify individuals from public school employment and merit inclusion on the Do Not Hire Registry:
- Any offense for which an individual is required to register as a sex offender;
- Any felony offense if the victim was under the age of 18 at the time that the offense was committed; or
- Any offense under the law of another state that is equivalent to a Texas offense would require sex offender registration or be a felony offense involving a victim under 18.
The only exception to this section is if the individual committed the offense under Title 5 of the Texas Penal Code and was more than 30 years before the effective date of S.B. No. 9, 2007, or the date that the individual’s employment will begin. The individual also must have satisfied all terms and requirements of the conviction.
Count on Bertolino LLP to Defend Your Teaching License from Disciplinary Action
Don’t allow a complaint to derail your career without cause. When you are facing disciplinary proceedings, you need a seasoned teaching license defense attorney on your side. We will defend you against the allegations you are facing and work to clear your name. Contact the lawyers of Bertolino LLP today by calling (512) 515-9518 or visiting us online.
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