HOUSTON – All eyes will be on a court case we’ve been following since Monday when the Harris County District Attorney’s Office shed light on a Houston-based cheating scandal involving hundreds of unqualified teachers getting certified to teach at various local schools
BACKGROUND: 200 unqualified teachers certified in $1M Houston-based cheating scheme
A total of five people were named in the investigation, according to DA Kim Ogg, but three former HISD staff taken into custody Monday. Vincent Grayson, 57, the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in Houston ISD was charged as the “kingpin” in the cheating scheme.
Vincent Grayson, former HISD coach, is the alleged “kingpin” of a $1M+ scheme in which 200+ Texas teachers paid to pass certification exams fraudulently. He and 2 former assistant principals will face a Harris County district court judge for the first time this morning. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/X9OTwd9wR5
— KPRC 2 Bryce Newberry (@KPRC2Bryce) November 1, 2024
Nicholas Newton, 35, an assistant principal at the school where Grayson worked was also arrested as well as LaShonda Roberts, 39, another assistant principal at Jack Yates High School. Officials said she is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers.
EXPLAINER: How alleged $1M Houston-based teacher cheating scheme worked
On Wednesday, Roberts and Grayson were out on bond, while Newton remained in jail. During their court appearance Friday morning, a judge lowered Newton’s bond from $200,000 to $50,000.
Two others have been charged in the scheme, Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center, and Darian Nikole Wilhite, 22, a proctor at TACTIX but not taken into custody Monday. That changed for Wilhite, who was arrested early Friday morning and appeared in probable cause court.
The scheme, reportedly worth over a million dollars, involved securing teaching positions for individuals who did not meet certification requirements and falsifying their credentials, according to the Harris County DA’s office.
RELATED: What will happen to teachers who participated in Houston-based, million dollar certification scam?
Records showed about 430 fake tests were taken and more than 210 unqualified teachers were certified in this scheme, who are now practicing or practiced at Texas public schools and in districts across the state.
SEE ALSO: More than 800 uncertified teachers started the school year in Houston ISD
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