SPRING – Parents don’t want to imagine it and school districts don’t want to admit it but abusive teachers are a growing problem.

Just ask four parents from Klein ISD.

They complained to administrators that a high school teacher made sexually suggestive remarks to their 14 and 15 year old girls over several years.

The teacher resigned. Exactly why is uncertain. But he didn’t lose his license. And instead found another job in another district.

He slipped out of sight, parents worry, to abuse again.

11 News asked for and received a list of the teachers who had their certificates revoked by the Texas Education Agency.

Since January 2004, we’ve learned the state revoked 265 teaching certificates. At least 30 of them were from the Houston area.

Revocations came after investigated claims of teachers having sex with students, physical abuse and inappropriate touching.

Nationwide, the Associated Press found more than 2,500 teachers lost their licenses for sexual misconduct alone between 2001 and 2005.

AP

It’s a widespread problem, the AP said. But most never get reported, the investigation revealed.

“The majority of that 3.3 million teachers out there are phenomenal,” said Dave Saba, President, American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence. “We just have a small number that are not.”

A teacher shortage is a big reason why, experts like Saba believe that abusive educators end up in the classroom.

“If we increase the talent pool. If we give principals and school districts many many more teachers to choose from,” Saba explained. “When they do the interview they’re going to be able to pick the absolute best teacher and we’re going to be able to raise the quality of the entire teaching pool.”

But unless districts start sharing information and create better background checks no one knows how to determine the true number of abusive educators or how to keep teachers like the one from Klein from taking his conduct to different districts.

Texas school districts are required by law to report teachers who are guilty of misconduct even if they resign.

Klein ISD says it investigates all allegations.

And as a matter of fact it has an investigation underway into another teacher who is currently on leave accused of having a relationship with a 16-year-old girl.