UPDATED August 17.
Plano Independent School District trustees voted to fire a principal accused of failing to report misconduct allegations against 2nd-grade teacher Paul Campbell, who has since been charged with sexually abusing female students in his classroom.
During a special board meeting on August 13, Plano ISD trustees voted unanimously to send a notice of contract termination to Brinker Elementary Principal Jennifer King.
King has 15 days to appeal the board’s decision and request an administrative hearing.
Trustees did not publicly disclose the specific “good cause” for authorizing King’s termination as recommended by the administration.
A lawsuit filed against Plano ISD, Campbell, and King alleges the principal failed to report a parent’s allegation that the teacher had inappropriately touched a female student.
The lawsuit also alleges King denied a request to transfer another child out of Campbell’s class and failed to investigate further.
In Texas, all adults are mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse. Certain professionals, including school officials, face criminal charges if they fail to report alleged abuse or sexual misconduct within a specific time frame.
Failure to report is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. The offense is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in jail if the failure to report is shown to be an intentional effort to conceal the abuse.
The Plano Police Department confirmed to Texas Scorecard that it had not received a failure to report complaint regarding King from Plano ISD. However, police are investigating a CPS complaint referred to the department on July 9—a day after Campbell’s arrest.
Online records show King worked as a principal for Plano ISD since the 2024-25 school year and was previously an assistant principal in Frisco ISD for nearly a decade.
Campbell, 64, had taught in Plano ISD for almost 30 years.
He was arrested in July and faces four felony sex crime charges involving different students: one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, a first-degree felony punishable by 25 years to life in prison, and three counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact, a second-degree felony.
The lawsuit filed by one student’s family accuses Campbell of continuously sexually abusing the girl throughout the 2025-26 school year and claims King’s failure to report a past misconduct allegation to law enforcement or the State Board for Educator Certification as required by law enabled him to sexually abuse more female students.
Campbell remains in the Collin County Jail with bond set at $2.5 million.
Plano ISD trustees voted July 9 to initiate firing Campbell for cause and cast a final vote to terminate his contract on August 4.
Campbell’s Texas teaching certificate is under review by The Texas Education Agency.
King’s certifications as a teacher and principal are not currently under review by TEA, even though Plano ISD placed her on administrative leave in July when the allegations arose.
Texas Scorecard has requested clarification on whether Plano ISD has reported King to TEA/SBEC for failure to report, which is cause for the state to sanction her professional credentials.
The TEA’s Educator Misconduct Reporting Dashboard shows 238 superintendents and principals are currently under investigation for failure to report abuse allegations.
Erin Anderson is a Senior Journalist for Texas Scorecard, reporting on state and local issues, events, and government actions that impact people in communities throughout Texas and the DFW Metroplex. A native Texan, Erin grew up in the Houston area and now lives in Collin County.