New Bill could keep educators' crimes secret

Story Created: Apr 24, 2009

Story Updated: Apr 24, 2009
They interact with children almost every day. But do parents really know all they should about their kid's teachers? A new bill may keep parents from ever really knowing the teachers they leave their children with.
Discussions on whether or not information should be released began last year in Austin when a school district reported that fingerprint checks found 310 district employees had criminal histories. Educator associations say the information was not meant to be shared with the public and are now lobbying for the new bill to keep it secret.
And the idea isn't sitting well with many local parents.
“I think we should have more and more privacy like now I said with the Internet and all the technology I think we're exposed too much.”
Retired teacher Martha Garza strongly supports a bill bringing educator privacy to the forefront. A new bill facing the Texas house would keep teachers' criminal history a secret. Any past felonies or misdemeanors, like DWI’s, would no longer be public information. Even an employee's birthday would be restricted, making it almost impossible to verify if the person is on the state's sex offender database.
“I think that anytime your dealing with children, you’re or anyone else’s you should make that kind of stuff public. There's no reason to keep it a secret,” says parent Kayli Clark.
The bill concerns some parents who say teacher backgrounds, like everyone else’s, should be considered public information.
“People should think before they do anything because its always gona come back to haunt them.”
“As a parent I am a parent I would want to have access to that information.”
But others say teachers face difficult issues and may need the protection.
“They need more privacy and not you know have that information out to everybody.”
The association of Texas Professional Educators says a new state-required fingerprinting law may allow the release of too much information and feel the bill would help protect against identity theft.
“I think we don’t have enough privacy nowadays. That’s how I feel.”
Only time will tell if everyone agrees.
The house voted in favor of the bill today and is now headed to the senate.