Atlanta schools disciplines 17 officers after testing investigation

Seventeen Atlanta school resource officers were disciplined following a probe into what officials initially described as test cheating.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will rewrite vague test rules that govern an exam officers must take to access a database of confidential and criminal records. This fall, Atlanta Public Schools Police Department asked an outside investigator to look into cheating allegations made by a tipster to WSB-TV , and on Friday the school district said it was concluding the review.

Seventeen officers admitted to receiving answers, including help from a dispatcher, on an open-book, multiple-choice exam. Sharing test answers is not permitted, according to the GBI, but it acknowledged in a letter this week to APS that "training materials and tests are considered 'open book' potentially leaving vagueness which leads to open interpretation."

Involved APS officers received a “letter of direction” that will go into their permanent personnel files. The letter states that they are to follow written directions for all future exams.

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