The Texas Education Agency has created a new leadership position aimed at strengthening oversight of educator misconduct as reports across the state sharply increase.
Levi Fuller was recently appointed as the agency’s Inspector General for Educator Misconduct, a role focused on overseeing investigations statewide, particularly cases involving sexual misconduct.
“I can promise you honesty and diligence,” Fuller said.
Fuller said he plans to refine investigative processes and focus on identifying root causes.
“Using my experience in the past to refine our processes, to try to get to the root of the problem, identify it, and then fix it,” he said.
The position comes after lawmakers passed Senate Bill 571 last year. The law created a statewide “Do Not Hire” registry for educators found to have engaged in misconduct and requires superintendents to report alleged misconduct to the TEA within 48 hours of learning about it.
Fuller said increased accountability measures are already having an impact.
“So people are taking notice that there are no more games,” he said. “I think what people are going to see this year is they’re going to see a spike in reports.”
According to TEA data, educator misconduct reports have risen significantly this fiscal year — from an average of 476 to more than 1,400. Most reports are submitted by superintendents.
“But knowing about these issues is a positive thing,” Fuller said. “We have to know about it in order to fix it.”
The increase comes amid several high-profile cases in North Texas, including a Celina coach charged with child pornography and a Frisco teacher arrested this week and accused of photographing under a young girl’s skirt.
Fuller said the agency also wants to ensure educators feel protected when reporting wrongdoing.
“There are over 350,000 educators in Texas schools,” he said. “We want the good ones to feel like they can report the bad ones without facing fear of retaliation. And we are working through that.”
However, not everyone supports the new role.
Texas AFT President Zeph Capo criticized the move, calling it insufficient.
“This is another band-aided approach to a problem that they created in the first place,” Capo said, arguing that broader staffing shortages and lowered standards have contributed to misconduct concerns.
Fuller acknowledged there is more work ahead.
“I promise you, there’s a way to prevent this, and you are going to see it,” he said. “We are going to get that right to the point where the idea is that these people never end up in the school in the first place.”
Fuller said upcoming changes include posting misconduct cases online in a more accessible format and reducing investigation timelines.
He said he is confident his office can manage the growing number of reports, though he acknowledged he currently has a small team and may seek to add additional positions in the future.