The trend of Texas educators and staff getting caught up in allegations of misconduct with students and minors appears to be continuing.
An Austin-area teacher was arrested by the North Richland Hills Police Department on December 27 after allegedly attempting to solicit one of its detectives posing as a 15-year-old girl. James Byrd, 42, is said to have reached out to the girl on the social media app Whisper and made plans to meet with her.
Byrd was a history teacher at Bastrop Independent School District’s Cedar Creek High School (CCHS) at the time of his arrest but was put on academic leave by the district a day later. He formally resigned on January 4, and the Texas Education Agency is currently investigating whether to remove his state certification.
Kasie Stagman, the principal of CCHS, addressed Byrd’s arrest in a letter to parents, assuring them that their children’s learning would not be negatively impacted.
“Although the criminal investigation does not involve BISD or any of our students and rests with officials in Tarrant County, Bastrop ISD will cooperate fully with law enforcement as needed,” the letter read, according to KXAN.
North Richland Hills PD reported that Byrd’s arrest resulted from a multi-agency operation involving its Internet Crimes Against Children unit, Fort Worth PD, and more. Texas law enforcement efforts have seen several alleged sex predators brought to justice, including at least 100 educators and school staff last year alone, as previously covered in The Dallas Express.
While the state penal system comes down hard on educators found guilty of misconduct with students, some community members and activists have called for holding district officials more accountable and improving teacher hiring practices.
“We need to stop the pedophiles from having direct access to our kids,” said one Texas parent, Aileen Blachowski, who is involved with the advocacy group Texas Education 911, according to the Texas Scorecard.
Some of the many accusations of indecency levied against educators in North Texas include an athletic director and high school chemistry teacher at Dallas ISD, an elementary school teacher at Lewisville ISD, and a school resource officer at Frisco ISD, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
