Educator misconduct reports filed with the Texas Education Agency have more than doubled in a single year, and Katy ISD is among seven Houston-area districts where TEA data shows at least one educator was reported for an inappropriate relationship with a student.
The numbers are striking: 16,848 misconduct reports have been filed statewide as of Aug. 13, up from 6,456 in all of 2025, according to ABC13's review of TEA data. But the spike is driven largely by a new state law, not necessarily a surge in actual misconduct.
What changed
Senate Bill 571, authored by state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, took effect Sept. 1, 2025, and overhauled how Texas school districts handle misconduct allegations. Under the old rules, districts had 10 days to investigate internally before notifying TEA. Now, principals must report alleged misconduct to their superintendent within 48 hours, and superintendents must file with TEA within another 48 hours, with no discretion to hold back a report.
"After Monday, September 1, 2025, they have 48 hours, and they have no discretion; the report has to be made regardless of whether they believe it or not," Chris Tritico, general counsel for the Houston Federation of Teachers, told ABC13.
A superintendent who intentionally conceals a report now faces a state jail felony, according to the Texas Association of School Boards' summary of the law.
Katy ISD's place in the data
TEA data from December 2025 through February 2026 identified Katy ISD alongside Alief ISD, Galena Park ISD, Goose Creek ISD, Klein ISD, Spring ISD and Splendora ISD as districts with at least one inappropriate-relationship report. Across all seven districts combined, four educators surrendered their teaching licenses, two received reprimands and one had a license revoked. The data does not specify which outcomes belong to which district.
The district faced a high-profile misconduct case earlier this year when former teacher's aide Samuel Perez was arrested on felony charges. As we reported Aug. 13, Gov. Greg Abbott proposed a 10-year mandatory sentence in response to that case.
In a May 2026 statement regarding the Perez arrest, Katy ISD said it takes all such allegations extremely seriously and is cooperating fully with law enforcement and relevant agencies. The district has not issued a public response to the broader TEA data report.
The numbers could keep climbing
Tritico warned the volume of pending cases could grow further. If the current pace holds, he said, pending cases could approach 100,000 by the end of this school year.
Separately, KPRC reported May 17 that TEA's "inappropriate relationship" investigations rose from 579 in fiscal year 2025 to 1,465 in fiscal year 2026, and sexual misconduct investigations climbed from 303 to 441. TEA also launched SEMARC, a statewide pre-screening database that flags accused individuals before they can move between districts.
What Katy ISD parents can do
SB 571 requires districts to notify parents of students involved in alleged misconduct as soon as practicable, including whether the employee resigned or was terminated and whether a report was filed with TEA.
Parents can check any Texas educator's certification status and disciplinary history through TEA's SBEC Certificate Lookup tool. TEA's Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard, also required by SB 571, provides public data on reports, investigations and disciplinary actions statewide.
