Texas school system rocked by million-dollar teacher cheating scandal

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A teacher certification scandal is rocking the Houston area, according to a statement by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg on Monday.

The scheme involved hundreds of teachers taking false examinations, given out by the suspects who charged per certificate, with many being falsely certified. 

The cheating ring unmasked at least five people allegedly involved in the million-dollar cheating scandal leading to fraudulently certified teachers working in the district. At least three of those charged were Houston Independent School District (HISD) employees, including two assistant principals and a high school basketball coach. 

Officials believe the basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School was the ringleader and that he made about $1 million from the scheme, charging $2,500 per certificate, although some paid more. 

Five people are charged in connection with a teacher-certification cheating ring. (Fox News)

Ogg said the scheme goes back as far as May 2020, and it is believed that hundreds of tests have been faked and investigators say at this time approximately 20 teachers have come forward with confessions.

"The extent of this scheme will never be fully known, but we know that at least 400 tests were taken and at least 200 teachers falsely certified," Ogg said.

Ogg also said at least two of those who paid to obtain the fake certification were charged with indecency with a child as well as online solicitation of a minor.

"It's very troubling," Mike Levine, a felony chief in the DA Office's Public Corruption Division, said. "Because teachers — especially teachers and coaches who help influence children's behavior — we count on them for their moral compass. A part of what they do goes beyond their mastery of their subject matter."

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The downtown skyline is pictured as the sun rises on August 25, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Loren Elliott/Getty Images)

Chargers are pending for:

• Vincent Grayson, 57: Head boy's basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD, Grayson is accused of organizing the scheme.
• Tywana Gilford Mason, 51: Former director and certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center, Mason allegedly helped conceal the proxy scheme as a test proctor.
• Nicholas Newton, 35: Assistant principal at Booker T. Washington High School, Newton reportedly acted as a proxy test-taker in the cheating ring.
• Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22: Proctor at TACTIX, Wilhite is accused of taking bribes to allow proxy testing.
• LaShonda Roberts, 39: Assistant principal at Yates High School, Roberts is alleged to have recruited nearly 100 teachers to participate in the scheme.

Each defendant faces two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity.

"The most important thing to me is that the ringleaders have been identified and are being routed out of our home school district. The fact that they held positions of power there, where they were held in esteem by the children, is the very worst part of this crime," Ogg said.

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A Texas flag is on the back of a police motorcycle outside of the funeral for Dallas police Sergeant Michael Smith at Watermark Community Church, Thursday, July 14, 2016, in Dallas.  (Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

A HISD spokesperson claims the district wasn’t aware of the scheme until right before the arrests and that all employees were immediately placed on leave.

"HISD was made aware of the investigation into an alleged cheating conspiracy shortly before arrests were made. Any educator who engages in conduct of this nature abdicates their responsibility to our students and to our staff and represents a complete betrayal of the public trust. HISD will cooperate fully with the Texas Education Agency and state and local law enforcement as the investigation progresses. All three of these employees have been arrested and will be receiving notifications relieving them of their duties effective immediately.

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"Additionally, if it is determined that any teachers currently working in HISD participated in this scheme or passed their certification exams fraudulently, we will take swift action to terminate their employment with the District."

The DA's office urges anyone with information about these certifications to contact local police or Crime Stoppers.