The week’s news from around the state brought the usual mix of stories — education funding battles, crime, government problems, politicians bickering, etc.

But during a quick look, I also found a couple stories that highlight what has become a growing problem — people in positions of authority harming children. Maybe the problem isn’t growing, but we simply know about more of them in today’s social-media-fueled world.

In Lexington, a longtime coach and athletic director resigned after school officials say he violated the district’s texting policy with students.  Multiple media outlets reported that the male coach resigned from the school on Tuesday. A woman said he sent her 15-year-old daughter hundreds of text messages. He has denied doing so.

In Moss Point, a former campus police officer has been indicted on felony charges of sex crimes against two former students and one other girl while they were minors. The Sun-Herald of Biloxi reported that a Jackson County grand jury indicted 50-year-old Kevin Sylvester Williams on three counts of touching of a child for lustful purposes and one count of sexual battery, all while in a position of trust and authority over the minors.

Indictments say that Williams inappropriately touched a 15-year-old student in 2009. He’s also accused of having sex with and inappropriately touching a 16-year-old student around the same time. An indictment also says that in 2011, Williams inappropriately touched and kissed a 14-year-old girl who was not a student. Williams has pleaded not guilty.

Obviously, being a coach or police officer doesn’t make one immune to wrong-doing.  But it’s a sad commentary on our society when inappropriate or even criminal acts by those we trust with our children are seen as common. We are no longer shocked when we read about these incidents — it’s as if we expect them to occur.

And maybe they happened when I was a teenager. But I don’t remember hearing about any. Back then, coaches and students were not friends. We didn’t communicate outside of practice or a game. I never in my life spoke to a coach by telephone — and I didn’t know anyone who did. Texting was obviously not an option then, as it had yet to be invented (yes, that makes me feel old).

But things are different today. Communication is less formal, and too often the line between appropriate and inappropriate communication is crossed.

As parents, it’s our responsibility to teach our children about the dangers of inappropriate communication with any adult. It’s also our job to ensure whatever rules we’ve set are being followed. That means reading your children’s text messages, and following their activity on social media. It won’t endear your teenagers to you, but it might keep them from showing up in the next news report.

While I have five children, none of them are teenagers, so I won’t pretend to know the best way to raise a teenager. But I do know teenagers are still children, and still need their parents to look out for them.

Luke Horton is the publisher of The Daily Leader.