As mandated reporters, educators and other school staff must remain informed on the topic of child abuse.

• Child Abuse Prevention & Overview  (TEA)

• Human Trafficking in America's Schools  

• Child Abuse Prevention--A Deep Dive Into Human Trafficking and TEA Efforts to Address It 

• ChildHelp

• Child Sex Trafficking in America: A Guide for Parents and Guardians

• Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence

• Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas Resources

  • TEA collaborated with the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas (CACTX) on the following resources:  

  • A Texas School Employee’s Guide to Reporting Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (English and Spanish)  

  • Child Abuse Hotline on an 11” X 17” poster (English and Spanish) 

• Fight Child Abuse

Texas law says anyone who thinks a child, or person 65 years or older, or an adult with disabilities is being abused, neglected, or exploited must report it to DFPS. 

• DFPS Report Abuse, Neglect, or Exploitation pens external link in new window)

• Texas Abuse Hotline 

• A Texas School Employee’s Guide to Reporting Suspected Abuse & Neglect 

A training course on recognizing and reporting child abuse or neglect is now live on the DFPS training site. It's designed for Texas professionals, including educators, medical professionals, and childcare providers. It provides valuable information that will assist them in deciding whether to make a report to the Texas Abuse Hotline. Registration: Follow the link to the course, enter your name and e-mail address, and begin the course. A certificate is provided upon completion.

Teachers, coaches, school personnel, youth leaders, and other youth-serving professionals play an important role in preventing teen dating violence.  Everyone deserves healthy relationships.

Texas Education Code 37.0831 on Dating Violence Policies:

(a) Each school district shall adopt and implement a dating violence policy to be included in the district improvement plan under Section 11.252.

(b) A dating violence policy must:

(1) include:

(A) a definition of dating violence that includes the intentional use of physical, sexual, verbal, or emotional abuse by a person to harm, threaten, intimidate, or control another person in a dating relationship, as defined by Section 71.0021, Family Code;

(B) a clear statement that dating violence is not tolerated at school;  and

(C) reporting procedures and guidelines for students who are victims of dating violence, including a procedure for immediately notifying the parent or guardian of a student about a report received by the district identifying the student as an alleged victim or perpetrator of dating violence;  and

(2) address safety planning, enforcement of protective orders, school-based alternatives to protective orders, training for teachers and administrators at each district campus that instructs students in grade six or higher, counseling for affected students, and awareness education for students and parents.

(c) To the extent possible, a school district shall make available to students:

(1) age-appropriate educational materials that include information on the dangers of dating violence;  and

(2) resources to students seeking help.

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Dating Matters: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships model 

• Break the Cycle

• National Domestic Violence Hotline

• Love Is Respect

• Texas Council on Family Violence

• RAINN: National Sexual Assault Hotline

What does state mandate say about school board training?

• Must receive one hour of training every two years that covers identifying and reporting potential victims  of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and other maltreatment of children.  

• Training must be provided by a registered provider, authorized provider, or Lone Star Governance (LSG) coach. For more information, visit the TEA School Board Trustee Training Webpage.  

• Continuing Education requirements TEC 11.159 (c) and TAC 61.1(b)(7)(c)(4) 

• TEA School Board Training

What does state mandate say about training staff about sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children?

• Training must be provided to all new school district and open-enrollment charter employees and all other staff not previously trained on prevention techniques for and recognition of sexual abuse, trafficking and all other maltreatment of children, including the sexual abuse, trafficking and other maltreatment of children with significant cognitive disabilities. (*School systems have discretion on selecting what training(s) are used for this purpose.)  

  • Training must include:

    • (A)  factors indicating a child is at risk for sexual abuse, sex trafficking, or other maltreatment;

    • (B)  likely warning signs indicating a child may be a victim of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, or other maltreatment;

    • (C)  internal procedures for seeking assistance for a child who is at risk for sexual abuse, sex trafficking, or other maltreatment, including referral to a school counselor, a social worker, or another mental health professional;

    • (D)  techniques for reducing a child's risk of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, or other maltreatment; and

    • (E)  community organizations that have relevant existing research-based programs that are able to provide training or other education for school district or open-enrollment charter school staff members, students, and parents.

• New employee contents TEC 38.0041 (c-f)

• The TEA Gateway Module is a training resource. Texas Gateway Module - TEA developed a free training module in the Texas Gateway called “Prevention and Awareness of School-Aged Human Trafficking” that can be used in coordination with existing child abuse prevention and mandatory reporting training to meet expanded educator training requirements on Human Trafficking.  

• Child Advocacy Center of Greater West Texas

What does state mandate say about training students?

• TEC Chapter 28

  • 28.004(j)  A school district shall make all curriculum materials used in the district's human sexuality instruction or instruction relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking, available 

  • 28.004(q)  Any course materials relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking shall be selected by the board of trustees with the advice of the local school health advisory council. 

  • 28.004(q-5)  Before each school year, a school district shall provide written notice to a parent of each student enrolled in the district of the board of trustees' decision regarding whether the district will provide instruction relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking to district students.  If instruction will be provided, the notice must include:

    • (1)  a statement informing the parent of the requirements under state law regarding instruction relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking;

    • (2)  a detailed description of the content of the district's instruction relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking;

    • (3)  a statement of the parent's right to:

      • (A)  at the parent's discretion, review or purchase a copy of curriculum materials as provided by Subsection (j);

      • (B)  remove the student from any part of the district's instruction relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking without subjecting the student to any disciplinary action, academic penalty, or other sanction imposed by the district or the student's school; and

      • (C)  use the grievance procedure as provided by Subsection (i-1) or the appeals process under Section 7.057 concerning a complaint of a violation of this section;

    • (4)  a statement that any curriculum materials in the public domain used for the district's instruction regarding the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking must be posted on the district's Internet website address at which the curriculum materials are located; and

    • (5)  information describing the opportunities for parental involvement in the development of the curriculum to be used in instruction relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking, including information regarding the local school health advisory council established under Subsection (a).

  • (q-6)  Before a student may be provided with instruction relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking, a school district must obtain the written consent of the student's parent.  A request for written consent under this subsection:

    • (1)  may not be included with any other notification or request for written consent provided to the parent, other than the notice provided under Subsection (q-5); and

    • (2)  must be provided to the parent not later than the 14th day before the date on which the instruction relating to the prevention of child abuse, family violence, dating violence, and sex trafficking begins.

• 19 TAC 74.35 Additional Requirements for High School Health Classes. 

  • (a) Parenting and paternity awareness. 

    • (1) A school district and an open-enrollment charter school shall incorporate instruction in parenting awareness into any course meeting a requirement for a health education credit, using the materials approved by the State Board of Education for this purpose in accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC), §28.002(p). Implementation of this requirement shall comply with requirements that the board of trustees of each school district establish a local school health advisory council to assist the district in ensuring that local community values are reflected in the district's health education instruction as stated in TEC, §28.004. 

    • (2) A school district may add elements at its discretion but must include the following areas of instruction: 

      • (A) parenting skills and responsibilities, including child support; 

      • (B) relationship skills, including money management, communication, and marriage preparation; and 

      • (C) skills relating to the prevention of family violence, only if the school district's high schools do not have a family violence prevention program. 

    • (3) If the required high school health education credit is earned through a course taken prior to Grade 9, the materials and parenting awareness instruction must be incorporated into that course or, at the district's discretion, may be incorporated into another course available to all students in Grades 9- 12. 

    • (4) At the discretion of the district, a teacher may modify the suggested sequence and pace of the program at any grade level. 

    • (5) A student under 14 years of age may not participate in a parenting and paternity awareness program without the permission of the student's parent or person standing in parental relation to the student. 

    • (6) A school district shall use the materials approved by the State Board of Education for this purpose beginning with the 2008-2009 school year. 

What does state mandate say about superintendent training?

• Continuing education requirements for a superintendent must include at least 2-1/2 hours of training every five years on identifying and reporting potential victims of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and other maltreatment of children. For purposes of this subsection, "other maltreatment" has the meaning assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.  

• Continuing Education requirements TEC 21.054(h)