“Then they drove to the Houston area, sometimes over four hours, and all of a sudden they passed the test with flying colors.”
According to the Texas Education Agency, becoming a teacher in Texas is not easy. First, you must earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. You must then complete an educator preparation program. Once that is completed, the aspiring educator must pass a certification exam and apply for a statement. Finally, all first-time applicants must be fingerprinted. The last part is probably the most important.
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Obviously, there are good reasons why this process is somewhat difficult. These people are responsible for shaping the minds of young people and hopefully encouraging curiosity and a love of learning. Sadly, there are people in this world who want to cut corners while still making a profit. A teacher certification fraud ring was discovered in Houston, Texas. The details of this scam are quite frightening. Here’s what we know:
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Explained the Houston teacher certification fraud ring.
In October 2024, authorities announced five people had been arrested in connection with a $1 million teacher certification fraud scandal, ABC13 News reported. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office quickly released information about the arrestees. Vincent Grayson (57) is believed to be the mastermind. He was the head boys basketball coach at Booker T. Washington High School in the Houston Independent School District (HISD).
The proctor who allegedly facilitated this operation and ensured it went undetected is Tiwana Guilford Mason, 51, a former director of the Houston Training and Education Center/VA certified employee. Nicholas Newton, 35, and Darian Nicole Wilhite, 22, were both substitute test takers. Newton is assistant principal at Booker T. Washington School. Mr. Wilhite was a test proctor for TACTIX, a testing business, and accepted bribes to get Mr. Newton to take the test.
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Unfortunately, it takes a village to execute such a complex plan. Meet LaShonda Roberts, 39, assistant principal at Yates High School. She is accused of recruiting nearly 100 teachers to participate in this massive conspiracy. These people are each charged with two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said the charges date back to May 2020 and that “the co-defendants collectively benefited at least $1 million.”
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The fraud was discovered when the former coach suffered a crisis of conscience.
District Attorney Ogg told Houston Public Media that a former coach who had volunteered to become a police officer in another part of Texas had a seizure of conscience and came forward with a plan that was apparently well known among teacher candidates. “The ring was left wide open and destroyed.” I want to get certified. ”
One of the certification exam centers had already been shut down in 2023 due to “suspicious activity.” Apparently, teachers were coming there from as far away as Dallas-Fort Worth, and sometimes even further away. Many of these teachers had already failed the exam once or twice. “Then they would drive, sometimes over four hours, to the Houston area and suddenly pass the exam with flying colors,” said Harris County Assistant District Attorney Mike Levin.
Perhaps the most upsetting information to come out of these arrests was the fact that two of the illegally certified teachers were alleged to be sex offenders. Houston Public Media reported that one person was “charged with lewd acts against a child and the other with online solicitation.” HISD is cooperating fully with the Texas Education Agency and state and local law authorities to determine who else received false certifications.
