Texas teachers who have inappropriate relationships with students would face a minimum of 10 years in prison under a proposal by Gov. Greg Abbott.

The governor pushed for stricter penalties for educators convicted of abusing students during a roundtable in Lubbock on Tuesday. Such teachers would have to register as a sex offender and face at least 10 years in prison with no parole, Abbott said.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows backed the proposal, signaling it will be a priority for the lower chamber when state lawmakers convene next year.

More than 1,700 allegations of inappropriate romantic and sexual relationships or communications between teachers and students in Texas schools were reported in 2026, three times that of the previous year, according to state data on teacher misconduct.

Nearly 400 investigations were closed after a preliminary review. It is unclear how many reports led to convictions.

“With literally thousands of violations in just the past two years, clearly the message has not been received to stop assaulting students in our schools,” Abbott said. “I want zero victimization by inappropriate teacher-student relationships. I want a law that will accomplish that mission.”

A 2017 Texas law requires a teacher involved in an inappropriate relationship with a student to forfeit teaching credentials and lose their taxpayer pensions if convicted. Superintendents or principals who “turned a blind-eye” to misconduct and failed to report improper relationships could face fines up to $10,000 or jail time.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.