The Texas Education Agency is investigating 60 additional teachers, including two dozen from Houston-area districts, for possibly participating in a local cheating ring that prosecutors say allowed hundreds of educators to gain fraudulent licenses in recent years.
TEA spokesperson Jake Kobersky confirmed Thursday that the agency is now probing 160 teachers in connection with the cheating ring, up from the 100 educators identified in December 2024.
The two dozen Houston-area educators include nine listed as working in Houston ISD, five from Cy-Fair ISD, three each from Aldine and Fort Bend ISDs and one each from several other local districts. All districts have been notified by the TEA.
Kobersky cautioned that the teachers may no longer work at the listed districts. Only six of the nine names of HISD teachers listed by the TEA match the names of employees in the district’s fall payroll records.
In the past, Houston districts employing teachers identified by the TEA for possible involvement in the certification scandal have been put on paid leave until the investigation is complete. The examinations, which could result in teachers losing their Texas educator licenses, are separate from the criminal prosecutions of five people accused of orchestrating the cheating ring. Three of those facing charges were HISD staffers at the time of their arrest.
Prosecutors announced the charges in October, alleging that the five defendants helped hundreds of educators cheat on their state licensure exams. The scheme involved educators paying about $2,500 to have someone else take the test in their place. Teachers from across the state, including Dallas and Fort Worth, participated in the ploy, prosecutors said.
The scheme netted its organizers $1 million, and the fraudulent licenses likely helped school employees keep their teaching jobs, secure promotions and increase their salaries, prosecutors said.
Asher Lehrer-Small covers Houston ISD for the Landing. Find him @by_ash_ls on Instagram and @small_asher on X, or reach him directly at asher@houstonlanding.org.
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