Texas school tip line law

Does Texas require a school tip line?

Texas requires each district's bullying policy to include a way for students to report anonymously; it is a district duty. Each district board must adopt a bullying policy, including any necessary procedures. That policy must set procedures for reporting bullying, including procedures for a student to report an incident anonymously, investigating it and deciding whether it happened. Districts must post the bullying reporting procedure on the district website, to the extent practicable. The policy and procedures must go into the student and employee handbooks every year, and into the district improvement plan. TEA (the Texas Education Agency) tells families that every Texas public school must have an anonymous reporting system on its website; that is TEA's summary, while the statute says "to the extent practicable."

Who is covered?

The bullying and threat assessment duties are written for school districts. Open-enrollment charter schools must follow the bullying prevention policies and procedures in § 37.0832. They must also follow the school safety requirements in § 37.115, which include the threat assessment team rules.

What do the state's bullying standards add?

TEA must adopt minimum standards for district bullying policies. Those standards must aim to increase student reporting of bullying to school employees, by raising awareness of district reporting procedures and by providing for anonymous reporting.

How do threat assessment teams handle reports?

Each district board must set up a threat assessment and safe and supportive school team to serve each campus, and adopt policies and procedures for the teams. Team policies must be consistent with the model policies of the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC). TxSSC, with TEA, must develop those model policies to help districts set up and train teams. The model policies must include procedures, when appropriate, for students or school staff to anonymously report dangerous, violent or unlawful activity on school property or involving a student or staff member. Section 37.220, which sets this, was enacted by SB 11 in 2019. TxSSC's 2025 model policies tell districts to set up one or more anonymous reporting mechanisms. They tell districts to train students, staff, parents and community members to report harmful, threatening or violent behavior anonymously. When a report involves imminent danger, the model procedures say to notify law enforcement immediately and follow the school's emergency protocols. Each campus must set a clear procedure for a student to report concerning behavior by another student; the statute does not say this procedure must be anonymous. Teams must complete training from TxSSC or a regional education service center on evidence-based threat assessment.

Are reports confidential?

A district employee who reports a potential threat to a team may choose to keep their identity confidential and outside the Public Information Act (the state public records law), except as needed to investigate. All suspicious activity reports and school safety reports in the iWatchTexas system run by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) are confidential and not subject to public records disclosure. That confidentiality section, Government Code § 411.951, was added by HB 3 in 2023.

What is iWatchTexas?

DPS describes iWatchTexas as the state's system for reporting suspicious activity or behavior that may point to criminal, terroristic or school safety threats. The iWatchTexas site carries a DPS copyright, and its form asks whether an incident is school-safety related. Section 411.951, the only section of Government Code Chapter 411 that names iWatchTexas, sets a confidentiality rule only; it sets no monitoring hours, forwarding rule or response time. A 2019 executive order, GA-07, told DPS to work with TEA and the Higher Education Coordinating Board on informing schools, students, staff and families about suspicious activity reports; it is an executive order, not a statute. The Governor's 2022 letter says DPS then added a school safety reporting option to the iWatch platforms, including the mobile app. DPS says analysts review every report, reports are confidential and contact details are optional; reports can also be made by phone at 844-643-2251. DPS says its analysts work with local, state and federal authorities to assess threats and act when necessary. iWatchTexas is not for emergencies; DPS tells users to call 911.

What happens with a false report?

Knowingly making a false report of an emergency is a Class A misdemeanor, or a state jail felony when the emergency involves a public primary or secondary school. A false report to induce an emergency response (the "swatting" offense, Penal Code § 42.0601) is a Class A misdemeanor by default.

What data must be reported?

Each threat assessment team must report required information about its activities to TEA.

What bills failed recently?

HB 1839 of 2025 would have put iWatchTexas into statute and created a reward program. As filed, it would have required DPS to forward credible tips to local law enforcement or prosecutors, and made it an offense to knowingly report false information to get a reward. It was referred to committee on March 14, 2025 and went no further; the session has adjourned, so the bill is dead.