‘Two sexual assault predators’ and hundreds of unqualified teachers: The Houston teaching scheme scandal, explained

Hundreds of unqualified instructors, including “two sexual assault predators,” have taught students in Texas school districts since at least 2020, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg in charges filed Monday.

In what’s now called the “Houston teaching scheme,” the suit names five former and current educators who either worked at public schools or administered teaching credential testing in the Houston area. The suit alleges the ringleader made over $1 million in a plot helping people get teaching positions who weren’t certified. Over 400 individuals took fraudulent tests, and as a result, about 200 unqualified teachers are currently employed in the Houston area and elsewhere in the state, the DA said.

One fraudulently certified teacher, according to the DA, has faced child indecency charges, and another has been charged with online solicitation. The DA added those crimes were committed after suspects were hired with fake credentials.

An inside job involving proxy testers

According to the Harris County DA, Vincent Grayson, 57, a popular, longtime high school basketball coach, masterminded the plan. Testers who agreed to participate in the fraud paid Grayson $2,500, and Grayson would then pay others involved. The testers would then arrive at the testing area, show their ID to someone who knew about the plot, sign their name, and leave, while someone else, who was also part of the scheme, took the test and passed. One fraudulent test-taker was caught completing tests for two different people simultaneously, according to Click2Houston. The DA’s office said a whistleblower helped uncover the fraud.

“This scheme goes back as far as our investigation can take it to May 2020, which, as you recall, was right at the beginning of the world shut down for the COVID pandemic,” District Attorney Ogg said at a press conference. “The extent of this scheme will never be fully known,” she added.

“It’s very troubling because teachers — especially teachers and coaches who help influence children’s behavior — we count on them for their moral compass,” Harris County DA Felony Chief in the Office’s Public Corruption Division, Mike Levine, continued, referring to the case. “A part of what they do goes beyond their mastery of their subject matter.”

The Mike Miles controversy

News of the teacher certification scandal came amid further controversy surrounding HISD Superintendent Mike Miles, who was accused of illegally funneling money from the Texas school district to a charter school system in Colorado, leaving the district with massive budget shortfalls. Earlier in October, the Texas Education Agency cleared Miles of wrongdoing, the Texas Tribune reported.

Besides Grayson, two Houston-area assistant high school principals and two teacher certification test proctors were named in the Houston teaching scheme litigation. So far, 20 teachers have confessed their credentials are fraudulent, and the scheme was reportedly well-known among prospective teachers hoping to get certified.

“HISD was made aware of the investigation into an alleged cheating conspiracy shortly before arrests were made,” a Houston Independent School District (HISD) statement said when news of the scandal broke.

The statement added, “Any educator who engages in conduct of this nature abdicates their responsibility to our students and to our staff and represents a complete betrayal of the public trust. HISD will cooperate fully with the Texas Education Agency and state and local law enforcement as the investigation progresses.”