AUSTIN (KXAN) — Two bills that could close loopholes in Texas’ “Do Not Hire” registry advanced this week, but one is still up against the clock of sine die.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who authored Senate Bill 571 and Senate Bill 1437, said that he introduced SB 571 “after a contractor in Austin was found working around students despite a history of misconduct.”
“These bills make sure misconduct gets flagged and stopped-no more passing the trash that allows predators to reappear in other educational or juvenile justice roles,” said Bettencourt in a Friday press release.
As KXAN previously reported, SB 571 was filed as a direct result of a KXAN investigation. That investigation uncovered that a former Texas Juvenile Justice corrections officer got a tutoring job at an Austin ISD campus through a nonprofit, despite the TJJD Office of Inspector General already determining he had an inappropriate relationship with a juvenile.
“It was your station’s reporting that showed there was a problem with subcontractors and that started us to say alright, if we got one problem, let’s figure out every possible way that people are avoiding being put on the do not hire registry if they’re sexual predators of our kids,” said Bettencourt in an April 10 KXAN interview.
SB 571 passed the Senate by a vote of 30-1 on Thursday, but still needs to pass a House committee vote by May 24 and a floor vote before May 28.
Governor Greg Abbott signed SB 1437 into law Wednesday. It expands the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s authority to block some applicants, volunteers and contractors from working with children in the state’s custody.
“Predators should not be able to leapfrog from one juvenile facility to another just because they don’t hold a specific certification,” said Bettencourt in response to the signing. “Kids in the juvenile system deserve the same protections as students in classrooms.”
SB 1437 goes into effect on September 1.
