A Principal’s Duty to Report, or Else!

A Principal’s Duty to Report, or Else!
How to Avoid Hefty Fines, the Loss of Your Certificates, and Jail

Campus administrators are saddled with lots of paperwork and deadlines, but there are new or recently changed reporting requirements for principals you cannot afford to miss.

Report Misconduct to Superintendent Within 48 Hours: Applies to Employees and Service Providers
As a result of the passage of Senate Bill 571 in the 2025 Texas Legislature, a campus principal must report to the superintendent the following allegations against a school employee or service provider:

1. Abused or committed an unlawful act with a student or minor, or used excessive force
2. Was involved in or solicited a romantic relationship or sexual act with a student or minor
3. Engaged in inappropriate communications with a student or minor
4. Failed to maintain appropriate boundaries with a student or minor

Let’s refer to these as The Big Four. The Big Four apply to everyone who does business on your campus—employees and service providers. A principal must notify the superintendent in writing within 48 hours of “becom[ing] aware of evidence of misconduct” related to The Big Four.¹ A clear and concise email with names and dates will suffice. “Becoming aware of evidence” does not mean you should wait until you believe it. If someone reports something to you, report it to the superintendent. Let your lawyer (may it never happen) argue about technical legal standards should you be accused of failing to report.

Report Misconduct to Superintendent within 7 Business Days: Applies Only to Employees
A principal must notify the superintendent in writing within 7 business days after an employee resigns or is terminated for allegations related to The Big Four, plus the following:

5. Violated test security as provided by state law or TEA regulation
6. Has a criminal history not disclosed on the background check
7. Possessed or sold illegal drugs and/or controlled substances
8. Misappropriated or illegally spent school money or property
9. Committed educator certificate fraud
10. Committed any crime on school property or at a school-sponsored event

A principal has 7 business days to make this report.² Make this 7-day report even if you already made the 48-hour report on the same person. We can talk later about how silly it is for a principal to report to the superintendent that an employee was terminated but do it anyway.

Penalties for Failure to Timely Report
If a principal fails to timely notify the superintendent, SBEC may impose a penalty of not less than $500 and not more than $10,000 and may not renew the certificates until the fine is paid. If it is found the failure to report was an effort to conceal, it is a state jail felony (180 days to two years in jail and/or $10,000 fine).³

CPS Reporting Must be Made within 24 Hours
You know this, but it bears repeating since the timeline changed a year ago. Be on guard—you only have 24 hours to report once you have reasonable cause to believe child/student abuse or neglect has occurred or may occur. Also new, you may report to CPS, to the sheriff, or to the municipal police, but reporting only to your school district police does not satisfy your obligation.⁴ As above, don’t wait to investigate or to be convinced by the evidence. Again, let your lawyer (may it never happen) argue about what “reasonable cause to believe” means, should trouble arise. If someone suggests abusive or neglectful conduct to a child/student has occurred or may occur, avoid the trouble and timely report it. Failure to timely report is a Class A misdemeanor (up to one year in jail and/or $4000 fine). If the failure to report was to conceal, it is a state jail felony. Additionally, TEA will investigate and your certificates could be in jeopardy.

Conclusion: Make All Reports within 24 Hours
To recap, you have 24-hour, 48-hour and 7 business day deadlines to report. Instead of trying to remember which is which, if you receive any allegation related to 1-10 above, notify your superintendent within 24 hours. If the allegation involves child/student abuse or neglect (The Big Four), also report that to CPS within 24 hours. Make both reports at the same time.

Kevin Lungwitz practices law in Austin and is a former Chair of the School Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.

TEPSA Resource: Download the Texas Principal Misconduct Reporting Guide

Endnotes

¹Tex. Educ. Code Sec. 22A.051(c)(2); see policy DP (legal)
²Tex. Educ. Code Sec. 22A.051(c)(1); see policy DP (legal)
³Tex. Educ. Code Sec. 22A.051(k)(l))
⁴Tex. Family Code Sec. 261.103; 261.001(3-a)