Spurred by constituent accounts of harassment and bullying by teachers and coaches, the Legislature’s Joint Education Committee debated Tuesday how to best hold K-12 employees accountable when they behave inappropriately with students.

“I think we have instances where we need to do a better job of looking out for the safety of our kids,” said Sen. Affie Ellis (R-Cheyenne). “We need to figure out a better process so that parents and students have confidence in these institutions.”

Ellis proposed two pieces of draft legislation to address the issue. One bill would amend the Safe Sch...