The U.S. Justice Department announced a $1 million settlement with Dallas ISD over allegations the district failed to properly report a teacher accused of abusing multiple children \u2013 and who went on to allegedly abuse more in another district.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\nThe teacher at the center of the case, Michael Roell, was indicted last month<\/a> on federal charges in what the DOJ said was a scheme to \u201cconceal his prior history of abuse\u201d and obtain a job at Forney ISD.\u00a0 <\/p>\n \nAccording to the settlement with Dallas ISD, the district hired Roell \u2013 who later changed his name to Johnathan Michael \u2013 as a special education teacher in 2022. In his two years with the district, Roell was the subject of four separate investigations into alleged \u201csexual misconduct with minors.\u201d \u00a0 <\/p>\n \nThe DOJ said the district did not report the allegations to the State Board for Educator Certification, instead finding the allegations \u201cunfounded\u201d under a Title IX standard. Dallas ISD quietly accepted Roell\u2019s resignation in 2024 and placed him on an internal \u201cdo not hire\u201d list.\u00a0He later changed his name and was hired as a special education teacher at Forney ISD; earlier this year he was arrested<\/a> for allegedly abusing a student there. <\/p>\n \nThe settlement comes as part of Project Safe Schools, which North Texas law enforcement agencies launched in August<\/a> to hold districts accountable for alleged abuse.\u00a0 <\/p>\n \nDallas ISD will pay $145,000 in a penalty and $855,000 for district-wide reforms, including posting mandatory signage outlining child-abuse reporting duties, conducting compliance audits, and reviewing all sexual misconduct allegations dating back to 2022 and sharing the finding with the Texas Education agency.\u00a0 <\/p>\n \n\u201cThis agreement forces fundamental change, because student safety must always come before institutional convenience,\u201d U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould said in a statement Tuesday.\u00a0 <\/p>\n \nDallas ISD said in a statement\u00a0that it could not corroborate any allegations against the former teacher. It also said that while \u201cwe strongly disagree with the government\u2019s allegations and legal interpretations of this statute\u2026we share the fundamental goal of Project Safe Schools: protecting students and ensuring their safety.\u201d\u00a0 <\/p>\n Bill Zeeble is KERA\u2019s education reporter. Got a tip? Email Bill at bzeeble@kera.org<\/a>. You can follow him on X @bzeeble<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today<\/a>. Thank you.\u00a0 <\/p>\n Copyright 2026 KERA News<\/p>\n