HOUSTON – The last of five suspects charged in connection to a yearslong Houston-based cheating scandal, involving hundreds of unqualified teachers getting certified to teach at schools statewide, turned herself in Monday.
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Tywana Gilford Mason, 51, appeared in court before being released on a $50,000 bond.
She’s the former director/VA certifying official at the Houston Training and Education Center. She’s accused of accepting money from Vincent Grayson, the alleged ringleader in the scheme, to keep it undetected.
The scheme, reportedly worth over a million dollars, involved securing teaching positions for individuals who did not meet certification requirements and falsifying their credentials, according to the Harris County DA’s office.
Records showed about 430 fake tests were taken and more than 210 unqualified teachers were certified in this scheme, who are now practicing or practiced at Texas public schools and in districts across the state.
So far, prosecutors and the Texas Education Agency have not provided names of teachers who may have been fraudulently certified nor the school districts where they are employed, despite multiple requests from KPRC 2.
The TEA has promised an investigation and appropriate action against any educator involved, and HISD has said it will fire any teacher certified in this way.