Complaints against two Gwinnett County teachers accused of trying to help students cheat on a standardized test were among several cases sent to a state ethics agency recently.

Five Gwinnett County Public Schools employees were accused of professional misconduct in June for alleged infractions ranging from cheating to theft. Their cases were sent to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. If they are found to have violated the Code of Ethics for Educators, they could be punished with a warning, a letter of reprimand, suspension or revocation of teaching credentials.

All five of the employees have resigned from Gwinnett Schools. "The Code of Ethics apply to all certificated employees — including administrators, paraprofessionals, counselors ... ," Sloan Roach, a Gwinnett Schools spokesperson, said in a statement. "As a school district, we fully expect all of our educators to adhere to the Code of Ethics and to conduct themselves in a professional manner."

In a recent human resources investigation, school officials found two cases of teachers failing to follow guidelines for administering the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Competency Test.

Seventh-grade math teacher Wendy Schuster was accused of telling students information they would see on the CRCT.

"It is alleged that Ms. Schuster looked ahead in the test booklet, and then provided advanced information to her students," Sidney L. Camp, Gwinnett Schools' human resources executive director wrote in a letter to the state.

Schuster said through a relative that she "denies the allegations."

She could not comment directly Thursday because she had oral surgery, the relative said.

Roach said four math classes were affected by the breach, which was reported to the state Department of Education. "The state invalidated the CRCT results for the Osborne Middle School teacher's math classes," Roach said. "This involved approximately 90 students."

According to the state's Student Assessment Handbook, no one is permitted to "give students the answer, or any clues to the answer, to any test item."

In another CRCT investigation, Jamie Leigh Gruber, a third-grade teacher at Fort Daniel Middle School, was accused of looking ahead in a student's test booklet and sharing information on the social studies exam with "several colleagues," according to a human resources document.

Gruber did not respond to repeated calls requesting comment Wednesday and Thursday.

Roach said no students were provided advanced information on the test, so the state did not void the results.

Three other cases also were referred to the state in June by Gwinnett Schools.

Christi Benton, a special education teacher's aide, was suspected in the theft of prescription medication from a closet at Hooper Renwick School. According to a human resources document, a video camera showed Benton taking the cabinet key from the desk drawer of a school employee and making several trips to the cabinet. Benton told school officials she was getting bandages. No charges have been filed in the theft, school officials said.

When asked about the case earlier, Benton, who resigned, denied the allegations and said, "I have no comment."

A South Gwinnett High School special education teacher was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a female student. According to a human resources document, Nicholas Renn Thompson, allegedly drove a student in his car, met her at a park and gave her a tour of his home. "They are false allegations," Thompson said. "My lawyer told me not to say anything more about it."

In another case, a new assistant principal at Sweetwater Middle School quit after failing to disclose negative employment information until after he was hired.

According to human resources documents, Nelson Boronat later told his school principal he had been under investigation in the state of Florida.

"Documentation revealed not only that Mr. Boronat was under investigation at the time of his application for employment with Gwinnett ... but also that he had received a written reprimand regarding his conduct," Camp wrote in a letter to the state.

Boronat could not be reached for comment.

During the entire 2007-08 school year, 12 teachers and one teacher's aide had cases sent to the state for ethics violations. Only one teacher so far — a former business teacher at Collins Hill High School accused of coming to work under the influence of alcohol — has had his or her teaching credentials suspended by the Professional Standards Commission.

Two other teachers — a former physical education teacher at Peachtree Ridge High School and a former special education teacher at Sweetwater Middle School, received letters of reprimand. The Peachtree Ridge teacher was accused of unprofessionalism for taping a cheerleader to a projector cart and giving her a ride through school. The Sweetwater Middle teacher was cited for grabbing, shaking and yelling at a special education student.

All but one Gwinnett educator under state investigation resigned or had their contracts dropped.

Gwinnett Schools employs about 12,000 teachers. "When you compare the number of referrals to the PSC to our entire certified work force, there are very few cases," Roach said. "That speaks to the professionalism and integrity of our work force."