Criminal charges unlikely for 5 implicated in APS cheating

Five Atlanta Public Schools educators implicated in a state cheating investigation likely won't face criminal charges, but now could lose their licenses to teach.

District Attorney Paul Howard gave APS permission to start discipline proceedings against the educators, Superintendent Erroll Davis said Friday. The district and the Professional Standards Commission, which policies Georgia educators, was asked to hold off on discipline proceedings while Howard decided which of the approximately 180 educators named in the investigation would face criminal charges.

Now, the district and the commission, will begin reviewing evidence against the five educators to determine whether they should be fired or lose their license to teach. Two of the educators are no longer employed by the district.

"I am pleased the process is starting," Davis said.  "The sooner we can get guilty people off the payroll and not guilty people back to doing what they do well, both the taxpayer and the system will be better served."

The school district is spending about $600,000 per month to pay the salaries of some 120 educators named in the report who did not resign or retire. Davis said the district will review the evidence against the three remaining employees to determine if they should be fired or disciplined.

The names of the individuals were not released.