HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A Texas Attorney General opinion released in September said school district police departments are not the appropriate law enforcement agencies to receive reports of suspected child abuse or neglect.
The opinion follows a change in state law under Senate Bill 571, which took effect in 2025. Under the law, an appropriate law enforcement agency includes the Department of Public Safety, a municipal police department, a county sheriff’s office, or a county constable’s office.
Spring Branch ISD Police Chief Larry Baimbridge said he asked Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare to help him get answers from the attorney general. Baimbridge said he believes his agency is capable of conducting these investigations fairly and on time, and wants that power back.
“We have the capacity, we have the investigators, and we certainly have the training to conduct these investigations very quickly, and if charges need to be filed we can do that, or if it turns out that there’s no merit to the allegations then we can let the teacher back in the classroom,” Baimbridge said. “But now we can’t.”
Baimbridge said the new law is making things difficult for everyone, with outside agencies already stretched thin. He added that this could lead to longer investigations and educators being unable to return to their classrooms while cases play out.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt, who authored the bill, said investigations could take longer under the new law but added that the goal is to avoid conflicts of interest.
“I was not trying to degregate the ISD, the school police departments, but it was clearly obvious that in some sections of the state, with people not reporting because they were worried about who they were reporting to,” Bettencourt said. “The important thing is that, however, that investigation being done fairly and impartially without somebody being able to say, ‘Oh, there’s a conflict of interest,’ because we’ve seen again — board members indicted on this, superintendents indicted on this, people covering for people that are clearly sexual predators.”
David Kwok with the University of Houston Law Center said he believes objectivity was central to the opinion.
“I suspect part of the concern is whether or not there was third-party accountability, that if it’s within the same school system, there’s less transparency with regard to the outside about what is going on,” Kwok said.
Baimbridge said he agrees that agencies should acknowledge when possible conflicts arise, but added the power should not be taken away from all ISD police departments.
“You either trust these departments — and that’s where I say hold people accountable,” Baimbridge said. “You see a department that’s not conducting a proper investigation, hold that chief accountable, hold whichever, the superintendent or the chief that failed to conduct a proper investigation, hold them accountable with their TCOLE license or their TEA license.”
Baimbridge said he wants the law repealed.
“I think if they just allow the ISD police departments to do their job, and hold everyone accountable — if they just hold people accountable and deal with those that don’t then you’ll see a bunch better process I think,” Baimbridge said.
School district police departments can still assist outside agencies with these investigations, and Baimbridge said his department will continue doing what it legally can to help.
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