Jason Agan was a popular teacher at Angelo Rodriguez High School in Fairfield. But for years, students whispered about his behavior. He touched some of them in public in ways that made them uncomfortable, they said, including hugging students and massaging their shoulders.

In late 2019, after multiple written complaints and an administrative hearing, the school district fired Agan. But he never lost his teaching license, and went on to teach at two more schools in California.

Holly McDede, who reported this story for KQED and ProPublica, explains how a pattern of delays and a lack of transparency has allowed educators to continue teaching after school districts reported them to the state.

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KQED and ProPublica will continue reporting on how California handles cases of alleged teacher misconduct. We need your help to get the full picture, and we want to hear from you. You can share your experience with the state’s disciplinary process online at propublica.org/kqed.

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