§ 118.001.Definitions

The 2025 chapter opens with definitions that decide how far the new liability reaches.

"Professional school employee" starts with the obvious roles — superintendent, principal, teacher including a substitute, supervisor, social worker, school counselor, nurse and teacher’s aide employed by a public school.

Contracted teachers are included. A teacher employed by a company that contracts with the school to provide the teacher’s services is covered, which closes the gap that outsourcing would otherwise open.

So are student teachers. A student in an education preparation program participating in a field experience or internship is within the definition.

Certified school bus drivers are named, as are members of a school district’s board of trustees and members of a charter school’s governing body.

The definition closes with a functional test: any other person employed by a public school whose employment requires certification and the exercise of discretion.

"Public school" means an independent school district or an open-enrollment charter school, so charter schools are covered on the same terms as districts.

"Sexual misconduct" is defined by citation. The section lists Penal Code offenses rather than describing conduct, which leaves the definition of each offense to the criminal law.