TEA data reveals new details in certification scandal involving at least 50 North Texas educators
DALLAS – Texas Education Agency data reveals the types of teaching certifications allegedly bought by at least 50 educators who occupied classrooms in North Texas.
The CBS News Texas team examined the employees' names, areas of teaching, and employment status under scrutiny for being connected to a cheating scandal out of Houston. CBS News Texas is not revealing the names because the employees have not been arrested.
"Unfortunately, our Texas teacher certification program is broken," said Rena Honea, president of the Alliance American Federation of Teachers in Dallas. "And because we have a system that encourages unregulated proprietary institutions to exist. The potential for scandals like this and not good judgment—it opens itself up to something that is a result like we're seeing right now."
Honea said it's too early to determine how this will impact their profession and the classroom.
"People think I can teach anybody to teach, and that's just not the case," Honea said.
The Harris County District Attorney charged five educators in Houston for running a certification scheme. Investigators said it included an assistant principal who took over 400 tests to put teachers in the classroom. The payoff was more than $1 million, prosecutors said.
The TEA has discovered more than 100 teachers took part in the cheating scandal. According to TEA data, at least 50 of those people got certificates for North Texas classrooms. Dallas, Fort Worth, and Duncanville have the most significant numbers connected to the scandal.
The CBS News Texas team broke down the kinds of certifications the educators were allegedly paying for. Special education, physical education, and social studies topped the list, while math, English, and science were less popular.
- Special education – 13
- Physical education – 13
- Social studies – 12
- Generalist/core subject – 6
- Health – 5
- History – 2 (1 intern certification)
- Science – 1
- Math – 1
- Marketing – 1
- ESL – 1
- English language – 1
- Diagnostician – 1 (probationary)
Data also show that the scheme rate has grown over the past four years:
- 2020 – 1 certification
- 2021 – 9 certifications
- 2022 – 9 certifications
- 2023 – 16 certifications
- 2024 – 17 through September
The team also discovered that at least three employees are on administrative leave, and at least ten are no longer with their district.
"Unfortunately, we have a very small number of people that have engaged in this, and 99% of the educators in our schools, in our public schools and classrooms have gone about their certifications in an admirable and correct way," Honea said.
