DALLAS — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas on Tuesday launched Project Safe Schools, a new initiative that aims to protect students, hold school officials accountable and improve transparency in public school districts across North Texas.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould announced the initiative during a press conference attended by FBI officials and state and county leaders.
Raybould said the initiative will bring together federal, state and local agencies to address educator misconduct through False Claims Act enforcement and criminal prosecutions.
“Educator misconduct is widespread, and too many public school administrators in North Texas ISDs are failing to report, investigate and stop abuse,” Raybould said.
He also accused some districts of “passing the trash,” a practice in which administrators allegedly move educators facing misconduct allegations to other campuses or districts rather than properly addressing the cases.
Raybould announced two related enforcement actions as part of the initiative.
In one case, his office reached a civil False Claims Act settlement with Forney Independent School District. Raybould said the settlement showed that the district repeatedly certified that it complied with mandatory reporting laws despite internal records showing reporting failures.
Those certifications helped the district receive more than $2.8 million in federal funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, according to Raybould.
The initiative will rely on federal, state and local cooperation to investigate allegations of misconduct and pursue enforcement actions when officials fail to meet their legal obligations to protect students.