Child abuse reports at Fort Bend ISD campuses in Missouri City must go to outside police agencies, not the district's own officers, under a Texas attorney general opinion issued Sept. 16.
Attorney General Ken Paxton declared that school district police departments do not qualify as an "appropriate law enforcement agency" to receive child abuse or neglect reports under the Texas Family Code. The opinion, first reported by ABC13, implements Senate Bill 571, which the Texas Legislature enacted in 2025.
For families at Ridge Point, Elkins and Marshall high schools and other FBISD campuses in Missouri City, the change is direct. Reports of suspected abuse must go to the Missouri City Police Department, the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office or a county constable's office. FBISD's own 76-officer police force, led by Chief Anthony Sanders, can no longer receive them.
Stafford MSD is less affected.
The district does not operate its own police department. It contracts with the Stafford Police Department under an interlocal agreement the Stafford City Council discussed as recently as June 3. Because Stafford PD is a municipal department, it already qualifies under SB 571's definition.
What prompted the law
SB 571 narrowed the Family Code's definition of "law enforcement agency" to four categories: the Texas Department of Public Safety, municipal police departments, county sheriff's offices and county constable's offices. School district police departments are excluded.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican who authored the bill, told ABC13 on Wednesday, Oct. 7 that the goal was to eliminate conflicts of interest when districts investigate their own employees. People in some parts of the state were not reporting abuse because they worried about who received the report, he said.
"We've seen again … board members indicted on this, superintendents indicted on this, people covering for people that are clearly sexual predators," Bettencourt said.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare requested the opinion after Spring Branch ISD Police Chief Larry Baimbridge sought clarity on the law. Baimbridge told ABC13 he believes school district police have the training and capacity to handle abuse cases quickly. He warned that outside agencies are already stretched thin, which could delay investigations and keep educators out of classrooms longer.
Paxton said in a statement accompanying the opinion that the ruling aims to stop districts from hiding the sexual abuse of children by keeping reports within their own agencies.
What school police can still do
The opinion does not strip school district officers of all duties. FBISD police must still report suspected abuse, cooperate with investigations and assist the outside agency handling the case. Sanders, who was appointed FBISD police chief in August 2025 after 24 years at the Corpus Christi Police Department, oversees a department that handles a range of campus safety responsibilities beyond abuse investigations.
Neither FBISD nor Stafford MSD has issued a public statement on how the districts are adjusting their reporting procedures. No upcoming board meeting agenda item addressing the change has been identified.
