\n Federal Prosecutors To Announce Dallas ISD Settlement | Background image by Canva; Dallas ISD logo\/Facebook <\/p>\n
Federal prosecutors are scheduled to announce a settlement involving Dallas Independent School District on Tuesday morning as part of a federal initiative targeting educator misconduct and failures to report allegations of abuse.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Northern District of Texas will disclose details of the agreement during a 10:30 a.m. news conference in Dallas, according to information reported<\/a> Tuesday morning by CBS News Texas. The settlement is connected to Project Safe Schools, although federal officials have not yet disclosed its specific terms.<\/p>\n Federal Initiative Targets Educator Misconduct<\/p>\n U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould launched<\/a> Project Safe Schools on August 18 to address failures to report educator misconduct and prevent school employees with known misconduct histories from moving between campuses or districts without disclosure.<\/p>\n The initiative coordinates federal and state resources to enforce reporting requirements and investigate alleged misconduct involving school personnel.<\/p>\n According to the Justice Department, the Texas Education Agency opened more than 9,720 educator-misconduct investigations over the preceding two years, resulting in hundreds of disciplinary actions and placements on the state\u2019s Do Not Hire registry.<\/p>\n \u201cProtecting children is not optional\u2014it is the law,\u201d Raybould said when announcing the initiative.<\/p>\n Project Safe Schools also targets a practice commonly called \u201cpassing the trash,\u201d in which educators with misconduct histories obtain positions at other schools without their backgrounds being adequately disclosed.<\/p>\n Previous Settlement Involved Forney ISD<\/p>\n The Dallas ISD announcement follows an earlier federal settlement involving Forney ISD.<\/p>\n In August, Forney ISD agreed to pay $14,308 and implement additional compliance measures to resolve allegations that the district submitted false or misleading certifications concerning mandatory reporting requirements while seeking federal special education funding.<\/p>\n The settlement was announced under the federal False Claims Act, according to the Justice Department\u2019s release<\/a>.<\/p>\n The department emphasized that the civil allegations were resolved without a determination of liability.<\/p>\n Separately, a federal grand jury indicted<\/a> former Forney ISD Principal Wendy Bailey and teacher Michael Raymond Roell, also known as Johnathan Michael, in September.<\/p>\n Prosecutors allege the pair participated in a scheme to conceal Roell\u2019s identity and prior misconduct history to secure his employment as a special education teacher.<\/p>\n Both defendants face federal wire fraud and conspiracy charges. The allegations have not been proven in court, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted.<\/p>\n Dallas ISD Previously Faced Questions About Misconduct Records<\/p>\n The upcoming federal settlement comes as longstanding questions concerning educator misconduct within Dallas ISD remain.<\/p>\n