The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has announced that 21 non-certified school employees and contractors have been added to the state’s Do Not Hire (DNH) Registry. This action bars them from working in Texas public schools while they face ongoing criminal proceedings.
TEA’s announcement is one of the largest single-day expansions of the DNH registry in recent years and shows the agency’s use of new authority to respond quickly when school staff face criminal accusations.
The change comes from Senate Bill 571, passed by the Texas Legislature, which expanded the Commissioner of Education’s authority beyond certified teachers to include non-certified employees and even outside contractors at schools. Previously, the DNH registry was simply more limited, a gap that could have allowed accused individuals to move between districts without enough oversight.
Under the updated law for school staff in Texas, someone can be placed on the DNH registry after a qualifying arrest – even without a conviction – triggering immediate restrictions.
All 21 named individuals are banned from working in any capacity involving contact with students at Texas public schools. If any are ultimately convicted of their individual charges, that ban becomes permanent for each person by state law.
The names added to the registry on Friday are: William Anthony Blackburn, Casie Booty, Teddy Coleman, Andrew Collier, Juana Estrada, Jeanet Hernandez, Rafael Hinojosa, Latoya Jackson, Shonterrick Johnson, Maria Jolley, Jherson Manuel, Dwight Merrell, Sade Muhammad, Jonathan Okray, Lee Rios, William Ritz, Kimberlie Rodriguez, Richa Sharma, Jordan Smith, Skyler Stricker, and Kyisha Wright.
TEA said the registry update was the result of coordinated work among its Educator Investigations and Enforcement divisions and local police departments. Commissioner Mike Morath added that the quick response to update the DNH registry can be credited to their teams, who helped ensure that the individuals in question were removed from campuses.
“Student safety is our top priority,” Morath said, “and these actions prevent individuals who have been accused of a crime from being allowed in our schools while criminal proceedings are pending.”
Additional cases are currently under review, and TEA said more registry placements are expected in the coming weeks as investigations continue.
“Our teams are working aggressively, alongside our law enforcement partners, to identify and act on cases that pose a risk to student safety,” Inspector General for Educator Misconduct Levi Fuller added.
Texas school staff members and parents who know of possible misconduct by educators or other employees are encouraged to report it quickly to local law enforcement and the Texas Education Agency.
