DALLAS (TX)
CBS News [New York NY]
August 19, 2026
By Steven Rosenbaum and Matthew Ablon
After a series of high-profile child sex abuse allegations involving North Texas educators, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced Project Safe Schools, a new initiative for fighting abuse in public schools, while announcing two North Texas educators now face federal charges.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould spoke at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, along with FBI Dallas Special Agent In Charge Joseph Rothrock and other federal, state and local law enforcement officials. An official with the Texas Education Agency was also present.
Raybould said “the problem is clear and urgent”, saying educator misconduct was happening too often.
“Some districts have even engaged in what is referred to as ‘passing the trash’, quietly moving educators with known misconduct issues to new campuses or new districts, where they hurt other children,” he said. “That practice puts children at risk, it violates federal grant conditions, and it ends today.”
Raybould said the TEA has opened more than 9,700 educator misconduct investigations in the last two years, leading to more than 590 disciplinary actions and the placement of more than 480 educators on a registry to prevent their hire elsewhere.
“Project Safe Schools brings together federal, state, and local partners,” Raybould said, “using False Claims Act enforcement, criminal prosecutions, and referrals to our state partners.”
“The culture of silence surrounding misconduct in North Texas public schools is over,” Raybould added.
Forney educators arrested
Results have apparently already been reached; Raybould said his office reached a civil False Claims Act settlement with Forney ISD. He said the settlement agreement shows the district certified compliance with mandatory reporting laws, but that internal records showed failures. Raybould said the alleged falsified certifications helped the federal government award more than $2.8 million in IDEA funding to the district.
Raybould also shared details about criminal wire fraud charges filed against former Forney ISD principal Wendy Bailey and Michael Roell, who he noted was also known as Jonathan Michael. Raybould alleged Roell legally changed his name to try to hide a previous arrest for indecency with a child, along with multiple abuse-related leave placements in different districts.
“Principal Bailey coached Roell,” Raybould said, “on how that name change would evade a background check.”
Raybould said both Bailey and Roell falsified hiring documents and concealed repeated abuse allegations.
“These are not allegations of negligence. They are allegations of deception, and they are examples of how ‘passing the trash’ operates inside real North Texas schools,” Raybould said, noting that the district did take accountability for it on Tuesday and cooperated with the federal investigation.
A pathway to report misconduct
Nonetheless, Raybould said it acted as a warning, urging people within school districts to report misconduct now. He said there is now a self-reporting tool available to districts, adding that districts that use it will receive “appropriate consideration consistent with DOJ guidance.”
“If your ISD has concealed educator misconduct, past or present, report it immediately,” he urged. “Voluntary, timely disclosures will be treated differently than misconduct uncovered through enforcement.”
Raybould noted Project Safe Schools is already moving quickly and investigating multiple school districts.
Kaufman County District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley took the podium after Raybould, praising the collaboration.
“This isn’t new, but it is going to just strengthen and enforce it,” she said.
More information on how to report educator abuse, neglect, or misconduct is available online.
Recent educator arrests
The announcement comes weeks after Paul Campbell, a longtime Plano ISD elementary school teacher, was arrested on accusations that he sexually abused second-grade girls in his class as recently as the 2025-26 school year.
Another former teacher and coach, Caleb Elliott, faces numerous federal and state charges for allegedly taking secret recordings of dozens of middle school boys inside a Celina ISD locker room.
Other recent cases alleging sexual misconduct in schools have involved a McKinney ISD athletic trainer, a teacher at a Little Elm charter school, and a Crowley ISD high school teacher.