(The Center Square) – A new bill protecting children was introduced this week by U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, called the National Educator Safety and Accountability Act of 2025.
It aims to protect, prevent and respond to educator sexual misconduct in schools.
The legislation would establish a National Educator Misconduct and Discipline Registry to track offenders and create a federal task force on educator sexual misconduct. Hunt presented the bill Tuesday to the House of Representatives.
Studies state 10% of children experience sexual misconduct or grooming by a school employee before graduation. That’s around 5.2 million and 9.4 million U.S. public school students. This misconduct can result in lifelong consequences, negative physical, psychological and academic outcomes.
There are no systems that exist to prevent employees dismissed for misconduct from moving to new districts undetected, according to Hunt.
“Under no circumstances should a child fear the adults who are supposed to provide a supportive, educational environment,” Hunt told The Center Square in an email. “This situation is unacceptable, and it is the responsibility of leadership to ensure that our children have safe communities. This bill will establish the National Educator Misconduct and Discipline Registry, which will give school districts the proper background checks on school employees. This incentive is crucial for ensuring our children’s safety.”
Arizona state Sen. Janae Shamp, R‑Surprise, praised Hunt’s proposal, as she has long supported stronger protections for children against sexual predators.
“This bill will finally end the shameful practice of ‘passing the trash’ by creating the mandatory National Educator Misconduct Registry for every federally funded school employee, volunteer and contractor, banning secret settlements that hide sexual deviants, and withholding federal funds from non-compliant districts,” Shamp told The Center Square. “Our kids deserve to learn in safe environments, and good teachers deserve a profession free of sexual predators hiding in plain sight.”
Sen. Janae Shamp speaks on the floor of the Arizona State Senate at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix, Ariz., Jan. 15, 2025. Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0 / Cropped from Original
Shamp emphasized the legislation is a critical step toward ensuring schools are safe and accountable. She noted offenders cannot continue moving from district to district without consequence.
The Texas Education Agency did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment on this bill.