Child abuse reports at Spring ISD and Klein ISD campuses must now go to outside law enforcement, not the districts' own police departments.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued Opinion No. KP-0528 on Sept. 16, ruling that school district police departments do not qualify as an "appropriate law enforcement agency" for receiving or investigating child abuse and neglect reports under Chapter 261 of the Texas Family Code.

The opinion follows Senate Bill 571 (SB 571), which took effect in 2025 and redefined "law enforcement agency" to include only the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), municipal police departments, county sheriff's offices and county constable's offices. School district police departments are not on that list.

For families in the Spring and Klein ISD areas of Harris County, suspected abuse at schools will be routed to agencies such as the Harris County Sheriff's Office or a local constable's office rather than handled internally.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare requested the opinion in September 2025, asking Paxton to clarify SB 571's scope. Teare's office wrote that the law "was intended to address concerns about potential conflicts of interest when school districts investigate their own employees," according to the Houston Chronicle.

State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, the Houston-area Republican who authored SB 571, acknowledged to ABC13 that investigations could take longer under the new framework. He defended the change, citing cases where board members and superintendents had been indicted for covering up abuse.

Paxton said in a news release that the opinion aims to prevent school districts from concealing sexual abuse of children through their own police agencies.

Spring Branch ISD Police Chief Larry Baimbridge, who prompted Teare's request, pushed back. He told ABC13 on Oct. 7 that his department has the training and investigators to handle these cases quickly, and that stripping that authority will strain outside agencies already stretched thin.

"We have the capacity, we have the investigators, and we certainly have the training to conduct these investigations very quickly … But now we can't," Baimbridge said.

Baimbridge said the change could leave educators sidelined longer while cases work through agencies with heavier caseloads. He wants the law repealed.

Spring Branch ISD is a separate district from Spring ISD and Klein ISD, but Baimbridge's concerns apply to every school district police department in Harris County. Neither Spring ISD nor Klein ISD police have publicly addressed how they are adjusting to the ruling.

The opinion does not relieve school district officers of their duty to report suspected abuse, cooperate with investigations and assist outside agencies. School district police can still play a supporting role.

The shift is already playing out elsewhere. In a Conroe ISD case, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit took over an investigation involving a former Woodlands High School wrestling coach after the AG's office determined Conroe ISD police lacked jurisdiction.

Statewide, educator misconduct investigations are climbing. The Texas Education Agency reported 441 sexual misconduct investigations opened through May in fiscal year 2026, up from 303 the prior year, according to Click2Houston. No repeal effort or legislative hearing has been scheduled.