Texas on record-setting pace for inappropriate teacher-student relationships
AMARILLO, Texas - Reports of Texas teachers having inappropriate relationships with students are on track to beat last year's record total.
The Texas Education Agency reports it has launched 162 investigations of reported inappropriate teacher-student relationships between Sept. 1 and May 31. The Amarillo Globe-News reports that the agency had 188 investigations last fiscal year, marking at least the fifth year of growth in a row.
The issue in Texas shot back into the national spotlight after it was revealed last week that former Houston-area teacher Alexandria Vera, 24, had been impregnated by a then-13-year-old former student.
Court documents allege she was introduced to his family as the boy's girlfriend, and the woman said that his parents supported the relationship and invited her to family gatherings. She reportedly said she told a school district investigator the family was "very supportive and excited" when she disclosed her pregnancy. She allegedly said she and the boy "love each other."
According to the probable cause document, she aborted the pregnancy after a child welfare investigator questioned her in February about the relationship, which she denied at the time.
Texas lawmakers could address the topic of such relationships during next year's legislative session. The state Senate held a hearing on the subject in December, and the Texas House Public Education Committee took similar testimony last month. At the House committee hearing, lawmakers and testimony from experts blamed social media.
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