Misconduct Reporting Training and Pre-Employment Affidavit

To help Texas school systems comply with Senate Bill (SB) 571, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has made available a free online training module that meets the requirements for staff and superintendent education on abuse prevention, recognition, and reporting; and the required pre-employment affidavit form.

The new requirements from SB 571 are effective for the 2025-2026 school year, making implementation of the new rules a top priority for school entities. In summary, the bill expanded requirements for reporting misconduct of employees and added requirements to cover certain service providers in order to prevent and identify abuse. The bill also requires all applicants to complete the TEA-approved pre-employment affidavit.

The requirements apply to all educational entities which include a school district, district of innovation, open-enrollment charter school, other charter entity, regional education service center, or shared services arrangement.

Training

The free training module meets the legal requirements of Texas Education Code (TEC) § 38.004 and § 38.0041. Due to the changes in the law, TEA recommends ALL staff, not just new employees, complete the training, even if they have been trained before.

The TEA modules train employees to:

• Recognize and prevent sexual abuse, trafficking, and other types of maltreatment
• Understand special considerations for students with significant cognitive disabilities

The training module and enrollment information can be found on the TEA correspondence Misconduct Reporting Training and Pre-Employment Affidavit. School systems may choose any training program that meets the requirements of TEC § 38.004 and § 38.0041.

Pre-Employment Affidavit

The approved affidavit is available on the TEA Pre-Employment Affidavit for Educators webpage. The affidavit may be completed as a notarized affidavit or non-notarized form. Educational entities may rekey the form into their own hiring systems.

Under TEC § 22A.055, anyone applying for employment in a public school or as a service provider must agree to release their employment records and submit the signed affidavit approved by TEA that discloses if they have:

• Previously been employed by or acted as a service provider or are currently employed by or acting as a service provider public or private school
• Been terminated, nonrenewed, discharged or have resigned in lieu of termination or discharge from a school
• Been investigated by a law enforcement or child protective services agency for, or charged with, adjudicated for, or convicted of, an offense involving the conduct listed in TEC §22A.051(a)(2)(A)(B)(C)(D)
• Been investigated by a licensing agency or had a license, certificate, or permit denied, suspended, revoked, or subject to another sanction in Texas or any other state for certain conduct
• Are currently the subject of an inquiry, disciplinary action, review, or investigation by any public or private school, by a teacher-licensing agency, by any law enforcement agency, or in the court of Texas or any other state in connection with any alleged misconduct
• Been listed in the TEA Do Not Hire Registry

Service provider is defined by TEC §22A.001(8) as a person who provides services to an educational entity, including the following:

• A contractor or subcontractor for an educational entity
• A provider of tutoring services for an educational entity
• An entity that has entered into a contract to operate a school district campus under TEC § 11.174
• A staffing provider for an educational entity
• A person employed by or under the control of a person listed above

There are penalties for an applicant failing to disclose information on the affidavit as well as for an employing administrator who employs a person or accepts services from a service provider if the administrator was aware the person knowingly failed to disclose information on the affidavit.

Next Steps and Resources

It is imperative for educational entities to ensure anyone applying for employment or a position as a service provider completes the TEA-approved affidavit form. Educational entities must also ensure all staff are properly trained on misconduct and requirements for reporting abuse and neglect. TEA has made these tasks more manageable with the new resources.

Detailed information about the new laws can be found in the following TEA resources:

• Required Misconduct Reporting and Notices (SB 571) and Liability of Public Schools and Professional School Employees (HB 4623)
• Educator’s Duty to Protect Students
• Educator Investigations

Additionally, TASB HR Services and TASB Legal Services recorded a webinar, Reporting Abuse and Misconduct & the 89th Legislature, which covers key components of SB 571 and HB 4623, updates to hiring procedures, policy provisions, and implementation guidance.

The HR Services Resource Library has useful information and tools to help educational entities manage investigations and the impact of employee misconduct. The HRX article Educator Misconduct Updates from the 89th Regular Legislative Session provides even more detailed information. Members will need to log in for access.

TEA recommends directing questions to your legal counsel or to TEA at generalinquiry@tea.texas.gov.