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Nearly 50 North Texas teachers named by TEA for allegedly obtaining fraudulent certifications

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced in October 2024 that more than 200 teachers in Texas were suspected of obtaining fraudulent certifications through a cheating scheme.
Lucio Vasquez
/
Houston Public Media
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced in October 2024 that more than 200 teachers in Texas were suspected of obtaining fraudulent certifications through a cheating scheme.

Nearly 50 public school teachers from North Texas were named by the Texas Education Agency Wednesday for allegedly obtaining fraudulent teacher certifications as part of a statewide scheme rooted in Houston.

Houston's Booker T. Washington High School basketball coach Vincent Grayson, Washington assistant principal Nicholas Newton and Yates High School assistant principal LaShonda Roberts, along with two other people, were arrested in October and charged with engaging in organized criminal activity for allegedly running the cheating ring. The scheme involved teachers paying thousands of dollars to have someone else take the certification exam for them, according to Harris County court documents.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in October that more than 200 teachers across the state were suspected of obtaining fraudulent teaching certifications through the scheme. On Wednesday, TEA released a list of more than 100 teachers who are under investigation for potentially being involved.

"TEA fully expects additional investigations to be opened as the agency receives more information," a TEA spokesperson wrote in an email.

The list released Wednesday includes teachers that currently or previously worked in Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington ISDs, as well as the Allen, Cedar Hill, Crowley, De Soto, Duncanville, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Everman, Garland, Irving, Lancaster, Mansfield, Mesquite, Mineral Wells, Princeton, Red Oak, Richardson, and Waxahachie school districts. A teacher from a local charter school, International Leadership of Texas Arlington, was also identified.

What are school districts saying?

KERA News reached out to all the districts on the list. Comments from those who replied are listed below, and this story will be updated with any other comments. Waxahachie ISD declined to comment to KERA.

A spokesperson for Fort Worth ISD said the district was cooperating with TEA's investigation.

"Like all Texas public school districts, Fort Worth ISD relies on TEA and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) to manage and oversee teacher certification processes," the district said. " Fort Worth ISD is committed to upholding the highest standards for educator certification and professionalism to ensure our students receive quality instruction.”

Irving ISD confirmed the two teachers listed as employees have since been fired.

"Irving ISD is committed to hiring high-quality educators who meet the necessary qualifications and certifications required by the state of Texas to provide the best education for our students," a spokesperson said. "The district takes all matters related to teacher certification seriously and is dedicated to ensuring that all educators adhere to the standards set by TEA. We will continue to work closely with TEA to support their investigation and maintain the integrity of our educational programs."

Lancaster ISD confirmed it was aware of an investigation into two teachers.

"The TEA has informed us of the investigation, and we will await their findings before providing any comment or statement," a statement read.

Mansfield ISD also confirmed it was aware of two teachers, who were employed by the district in the 2023-24 school year.

"We are cooperating fully with TEA’s investigation," the statement read. "In addition, MISD is conducting its own investigation into our employees and will take appropriate action.”

Princeton ISD said neither of the two teachers identified as employees still worked with the district.

"Isaiah Santos resigned in 2023 to relocate and work for another school district, and Jakari Dillard left PISD for a teaching/coaching position with another district earlier this year before the start of the 2024-2025 school year," the district said.

Richardson ISD said TEA notified the district about two current teachers under investigation the afternoon of Dec. 4.

"RISD is taking this matter very seriously and is cooperating fully with the state investigation," a statement read. "As a result of the TEA notification, RISD has placed both teachers on administrative leave, effective immediately, pending the results of the investigation."

Who's being investigated by the TEA?

Below is the list of teachers being investigated by the TEA, along with the school district where they were employed at the end of either the 2022-23 or 2023-24 school year.

Xavier Adams, Mansfield ISD

Kwabena Agyei, Katy ISD

Mecca Allah, Spring ISD

Marion Baxter, Mesquite ISD

Jermaine Beal, Waxahachie ISD

Destiny Bowman-Smith, Fort Worth ISD

Shayla Bragg, Arlington ISD

Billy Brewer, New Boston ISD

April Brown, Fort Bend ISD

Armani Callihan, Port Arthur ISD

Randel Clark, Linden-Kildare CISD

Jefferson Collins, Alvin ISD

Vivian Cook, Fort Bend ISD

Markel Cooks, Irving ISD

Dwain Crawford, Richardson ISD

Allison Dawson, Spring ISD

Tieranny Decuir, Port Arthur ISD

Jakari Dillard, Princeton ISD

Jeremiah Din, Dallas ISD

Corey Douglas, Lancaster ISD

Aaron Durley, Fort Bend ISD

Nehandra Edwards, Alvin ISD

Sterling Finney, Spring ISD

Karrington Ford, Irving ISD

Fred Galloway, Houston ISD

Michael Garrett, Alvin ISD

Autumn Glass-Hammond, Spring Branch ISD

Jason Goss, Dallas ISD

Ernest Grant, Houston ISD

Xavier Gray, Harris County Department of Education

Vincent Grayson, Houston ISD

Arthur Green, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Dnarius Green, Crowley ISD

Charlotte Green-Allison, Port Arthur ISD

Rodney Hampton, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Brandon Hargers, Palestine ISD

Alexcia Harris, Houston ISD

Janea Heath, Dallas ISD

Gerrod Henderson, Houston ISD

Caleb Hendrix, Everman ISD

Charles Preston Hill, Duncanville ISD

Jerome Hill, Houston ISD

Hanna Hogan, Fort Worth ISD

Devan Hollins, Richardson ISD

Quintin Johnson, Port Arthur ISD

Tiffany Johnson, Houston ISD

Taneadra Jones, Duncanville ISD

Antorio Kelly, Garland ISD

Danyelle Kendricks, Houston ISD

Simone Key, Duncanville ISD

Arthur Lockett, Houston ISD

Jeffrey Luster, Duncanville ISD

Taylor Luster, Mineral Wells ISD

Johnnie Mack, Galena Park ISD

Dayon Mallet, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD

Germia Malone, DeSoto ISD

Brandon Manning, Alvin ISD

Money Martin, Arlington ISD

Antonio Mauldin, Dallas ISD

Keisha Mayes, Duncanville ISD

Calandra McAfee, Katy ISD

LaToya Moore, Duncanville ISD

Edwin Nelson, Port Arthur ISD

Nicholas Newton, Houston ISD

Tristan Nolan, Beaumont ISD

Toye Oglesby, Pearland ISD

Jazzmen Ortiz, Temple ISD

Shameika Osborne, Mansfield ISD

Charles Peterson, Houston ISD

Mark Politte, Houston ISD

Nyzhe Primas, Dallas ISD

Roald Raymond, Chapel Hill ISD

Dominique Reagor, Fort Worth ISD

Sheba Regan-Waterford, Fort Worth ISD

LaShonda Roberts, Houston ISD

Nikia Robinson, Madisonville ISD

Jordan Rogers, Dallas ISD

Gabriel Samuels, Duncanville ISD

Isaiah Santos, Princeton ISD

Perry Selvage, Conroe ISD

Latisha Session, Houston ISD

Omar Sneed, Hardin-Jefferson ISD

Darrea Spears, Lancaster ISD

Tahj Spillman, Dallas ISD

Terrion Spivey, Cedar Hill ISD

Marcus Swift, Waxahachie ISD

Tavares Thomas, Fort Bend ISD

Cairo Thornton, Dallas ISD

Alford Tribble Jr., Duncanville ISD

Yamille Valenzuela, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Reuben Vaughn, Fort Worth ISD

Jordan Versey, Arlington ISD

Chason Virgil, Mesquite ISD

Thomas Washington, Dallas ISD

Earl Westbrooks, Houston ISD

Daphney White, Alvin ISD

JaQuan White, Red Oak ISD

Cathy Whiting, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD

Jeremiah Williams, Allen ISD

Kawonda Williams, International Leadership of Texas

Tanisha Wright, Beaumont ISD

Copyright 2024 KERA

Adam Zuvanich | Houston Public Media
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