Atlanta Public Schools is taking steps to fire five teachers implicated in a widespread test-cheating scandal, joining 11 others targeted for termination earlier this month.
After months of delay and millions spent in payroll and legal expenses, the district is trying to get educators accused of cheating off the payroll. APS has sent out a total of 16 “charge letters,” notifying teachers of the intent to fire them and explaining the reasons why.
Five educators from Fain and Dobbs elementary schools were sent letters Friday. Some are accused of making copies of exam booklets in order to prepare students. Others told state investigators they prompted students to change incorrect answers by making statements like, “Look at that again.”
Employment hearings will be held next month for educators who receive charge letters and want to fight for their jobs. But in previous cases most have chosen to quit rather than challenge the charges against them.
Of the 11 educators sent charge letters earlier, nine have resigned or retired. One attended a hearing, but lost. One is scheduled for a hearing Friday.
APS is paying $1 million a month to about 110 educators accused of cheating who remain on leave, but the system is trying to resolve the cases by the end of the school year. Superintendent Erroll Davis said the district is making progress.
“Everyone is resigning before the hearing starts,” he said. “These are the easier cases. These are the cases where we have confessions and multiple witnesses. I suspect some cases are going to take a little longer, but we will see.”
A state investigation released in July uncovered evidence of cheating at 44 schools on the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test, a standardized test that’s a pivotal measure of a school’s achievement. About 180 educators were implicated in the report; about 70 have left the district.
The district placed the teachers implicated on paid leave but has been unable to fire them because of complicated state employment laws and a lack of access to critical evidence.
Attorneys who represent the teachers said the district may have a more difficult time proving cases where the teacher has not confessed.
Educators accused of cheating face three avenues of punishment — loss of their jobs, loss of their teaching licenses and criminal charges. A Fulton grand jury has been investigating the case to determine whether the educators’ actions were criminal, and charges against some are expected.
The Professional Standards Commission, which licenses and monitors Georgia educators, has sanctioned 16 in the scandal. The agency is moving forward with APS cases and additional sanctions could come in April.
None of the five educators who received charge letters this week could be reached for comment.
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