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
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