Attorneys for former Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall said Friday she remains too ill to try for allegedly conspiring to change students’ answers on standardized tests.
Hall has Stage IV breast cancer, and her doctors said she is unable to endure the grueling schedule of a months-long trial. Her case was separated from the other 12 former educators who are now on trial.
Judge Jerry Baxter asked Hall’s lawyers Jan. 22 to update him on her health. “We need to try her,” Baxter said. “Somebody said they saw her out eating the other day, so I need to know how she is doing.”
Hall’s lawyer, Richard Deane, said in an email her legal team met Baxter Friday to provide an update.
“We very much wish we could tell you that Dr. Hall is doing well, but she is not,” Deane said. “She continues to fight Stage IV breast cancer and was, in fact, hospitalized as a result of complications from the disease on the day Judge Baxter asked for an update on her health.”
Deane said Hall was in the hospital Jan. 20 to Jan. 24, but he did not give the reason.
“Out of respect for Dr. Hall’s privacy and her family, we do not intend to respond further publicly on her health,” Deane said
Just weeks before jury selection was to begin last August, Baxter agreed to sever Hall’s case from the 12 former educators indicted with her almost two years ago. Her oncologist said in a sworn statement that the side effects of chemotherapy and the progression of her cancer would make it impossible for her to physically endure a trial.
Though Hall has not been in the courtroom since the trial began in September, she has been the focus of some testimony.
On Thursday, the former head of human resources for the district testified Hall ordered staff to shred all copies of a draft report of an internal investigation into cheating. The investigation was launched after the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement said it suspected cheating took place on a 2008 makeup test for the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests for fifth-graders at Deerwood Academy.
APS investigated. It’s former human resources director Millicent Few testified Thursday the investigation found there was a “high likelihood” of cheating. Few said Hall disagreed with investigator Penn Payne’s findings and ordered the drafts destroyed. Hall then assigned a member of her staff to work with Payne to downplay the criticism and produce a less damaging final report, Few said.
About the Author
