Texas Teachers Cheating Scandal

If your kids are telling you that their teacher has no idea what they’re talking about, they might be telling the truth.

A huge cheating scandal involving teacher certification tests has been exposed, and several teachers in North Texas have been implicated.

If you’re a hard working teacher, you’re going to be pretty angry about this story.

It is being alleged that teacher candidates paid out $2500 each to have someone else take their test and guarantee a passing grade.

The alleged ringleader has been identified by the Harris County district attorney as being a basketball coach named Vincent Grayson, who is said to have pocketed over $1,000,000 in the scandal.

But it gets better. An HISD assistant principal named Nicholas Newton is implicated as well, accused of collecting $188,000 payments in return for fraudulently taking certification exams for individuals who wanted to become teachers.

Another assistant principal named LaShonda Roberts recruited a group of 100 teachers to take exams, collecting up to $1000 a pop and making roughly $90000. 

There was even a crew of lookouts who were paid $250 per test, collectively earning $125,000.

But back to the worst part: It is being alleged that teacher candidates paid out $2500 each to have someone else take their test and guarantee a passing grade. That’s what is upsetting so many. Your tax money is paying people to be in the classroom who have no business being there. 

What were these teachers teaching? What kind of grades were being given? How prepared were students when taking important exams? 

Aside from tax money, the real victims here are the students. So many are working hard to get in to a particular college or degree program, and to qualify for scholarships and grants. Would an unqualified, fraudulent teacher be the difference maker between a student having an opportunity? This is potentially life altering stuff for these kids. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has addressed the scandal and a Grand Jury has already handed out indictments in the case.

The scandal so far includes teachers from 35 different school districts. Roughly have of the teachers are working here in North Texas, with Dallas ISD, Duncanville ISD, and Fort Worth ISD having the most names implicated so far. 

Missing from the list entirely are Frisco ISD, McKinney ISD, Prosper ISD, Lewisville ISD, and Celina ISD.

As of the time this article was published, here is the full list of teachers being investigated. Is your child’s teacher on the list?

The investigation into the scandal has been ongoing for months, and new names and affected school districts are still being added. This post will be updated as the case progresses.