***To view the letter addressed to Conroe ISD, please click here: ***
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas. — Citizens Defending Freedom is a nonprofit organization that educates Americans how to defend their faith, freedom, and liberty. CDF’s education initiatives include working with school districts for transparent and accountable governance. CDF responded to the recent violent attack on a student by a transportation employee in Conroe Independent School District to ensure mandatory employee misconduct is reported as required by law.
In a viral video, which can be viewed by clicking the link above, a Conroe ISD transportation employee physically attacks a student on a school bus. The employee was terminated by the school district and a criminal investigation is underway. According to Citizens Defending Freedom General Counsel Jonathan Hullihan,” CDF investigations have uncovered multiple Texas school districts that have failed to meet Texas Education Agency reporting requirements. The reporting requirements ensure individuals that resign or are terminated for misconduct are included on a statewide “do not hire” registry, making them ineligible to gain employment at a future school district.”
Hullihan further stated, “Although we are not aware if Conroe ISD has violated reporting requirements on this matter, standard CDF protocol is to send a legal letter to Texas school districts to remind them of the legal responsibility on matters related to employee termination or resignation when misconduct is involved.” He added, “not all school districts, superintendents, board of trustee members, or frankly legal departments have been aware or fully complied with reporting, creating gaps in the system, putting students at risk.”
“When it comes to the safety of our children, there really is no room for error. Our goal is to remind school districts in a professional manner to follow TEA reporting requirements” states Jennifer Eckhart, Montgomery County Citizens Defending Freedom’s Executive Director. “For at-school incidents such as this, that includes reporting to the TEA misconduct reporting portal. As we have seen around the State, a delay or lack of follow-through could result in an individual such as this, getting a job in another School District. Regardless of what lead up to the incident, this person should never work with children again.” According to Eckhart, “We want to be helpful to parents, school districts, and work together to meet a goal everyone can agree on, protecting our children.”