Dallas ISD agrees to $1 million settlement tied to ex-teacher charged in Forney case, officials say

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas says Dallas ISD has agreed to a $1 million settlement and major changes to how it handles reports of educator misconduct and abuse after the office said it didn't properly handle investigations into Michael Roell, the same teacher facing a grand jury indictment on charges he and a Forney ISD principal tried to circumvent hiring safeguards.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould hosted a press conference on Tuesday, announcing a settlement to resolve federal civil claims tied to reporting laws related to a special education grant running from 2022 through 2024. Raybould said Roell had taught special education at DISD before he was hired at Forney ISD, but that Roell faced four separate investigations involving misconduct or the abuse of minors. However, Raybould said DISD never reported anything to state officials and that Roell left DISD with no public record of misconduct that could be shared with other school districts.

Raybould did note that DISD accepted responsibility for this and agreed to make changes to how investigations are handled and to reporting, saying some information lived in different silos within the district administration.

What was Roell reported for?

Raybould briefly discussed one of the four DISD investigations into Roell during the press conference. According to Raybould, a boy came to school in September 2023 and reported that Roell had sexually abused him at a Boy Scout camp in Athens, located in East Texas. The boy said Roell had picked him because Roell thought he wouldn't report him, and that Roell had touched other boys while serving as a scout leader.

Raybould said DISD, rather than reporting the four cases to law enforcement, gave Roell a choice: resign or face termination. Raybould said resignation meant that Roell's name was relegated only to an internal do-not-hire list within DISD, while a termination would've required the involvement of the board of trustees and a public review.

Raybould said Roell then moved on to work at Forney ISD. Raybould also noted Roell was fired by Garland ISD prior to his time at DISD, specifically accused of touching a student and observing students in the restroom, but that DISD still hired him despite knowing this.

What changes will DISD need to make?

Raybould said Dallas ISD will require all employees, contract workers and volunteers to disclose any finding against them, civil or otherwise. Background checks must now encompass any pending or settled civil cases. Raybould also said the district withheld key information about Roell from his principal and assistant principal during the investigation in 2023; that now ends, he says, and DISD is now required to dismantle internal information silos.

Further, Raybould said DISD is now required to involve outside law enforcement in any investigations involving educator misconduct. Raybould said the allegations against Roell were referred to DISD's own police department, allowing them to be rerouted internally. DISD will also need to undergo mandatory training and coordination to change its own culture.

Are other school districts facing similar investigations?

Raybould said other North Texas school districts are facing investigations, many of which don't know those investigations are underway. He has urged district superintendents to come forward about past failures, claiming most investigations have been spurred by parents and teachers making reports.

What is Project Safe Schools?

Project Safe Schools is a new initiative announced in August by U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. It was launched after a series of high-profile child sex abuse allegations involving North Texas educators. 

During a press conference announcing the initiative, 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."

The initiative is a partnership involving the Texas Education Agency and local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. 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.

Levi Fuller, the TEA's first inspector general for educator misconduct, previously told CBS News Texas that the goal is to move investigations more quickly and keep educators accused of serious misconduct out of classrooms while cases are reviewed.

"We're expanding our capability," Fuller said.

Fuller is nearly six months into the new position, created as Texas faces growing scrutiny over how school districts handle allegations involving teachers, coaches, and other school employees.

The TEA has received more than 16,000 educator misconduct reports this year, Fuller said. About 9,000 investigations are currently active.

Under changes implemented by his office, about 7,100 of those cases can now go through a temporary suspension process, which Fuller said has helped speed up investigations.

More details about the TEA's efforts and how to report educator misconduct, abuse, or neglect can be found online.

Have North Texas educators been recently arrested?

Yes. The August announcement for Project Safe Schools happened 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.