East Texas teachers named in TEA certification fraud investigation
Posted/updated on: December 10, 2024 at 3:37 am
EAST TEXAS — The Texas Education Agency has released a list of 102 teachers that have been flagged in an investigation into educator certification fraud and four of those teachers are in East Texas. cording to our news partner KETK, the NBCDFW, these teachers are under investigation to determine whether or not they took part in an alleged Houston-area scheme to falsify certifications for over 200 teachers.
The educator certification is an official recognition indicating that an individual has met all the requirements to work as a certified teacher. With an educator certification, people could potentially receive higher pay and allows them to work at public schools.
The following four East Texas teachers were listed by the TEA: Brandon Hargers – Palestine ISD, Billy Brewer – New Boston ISD, Randel Clark – Linden-Kildare CISD and Roald Raymond – Chapel Hill ISD.
KETK contacted New Boston ISD superintendent Brian Bobbitt for comment on Brewer being listed by the TEA. Bobbitt said the district couldn’t comment on a personnel investigation and that the alleged incident under investigation did not happen while Brewer was working for New Boston ISD.
The TEA emphasized that “the district associated with this educator does not mean that is their current place of employment. Based off the latest info, that was their place of employment at the end of either the 2022-2023 school year or 2023-2024 school year.”
Palestine ISD took to Facebook to comment on the listing of Brandon Hargers:
“Palestine ISD was made aware late Wednesday afternoon through a Texas Education Agency communication of a Palestine ISD employee whose Texas Educator Certification was under review due to allegations stemming from the current investigation centered on a Houston based ‘teacher-certification cheating scheme.’ The employee has been placed on administrative leave while the district consults with our attorney and investigates the allegations internally. The district will cooperate fully with the Texas Education Agency in their investigation. Actions will be taken upon the full investigation.” – Palestine ISD
Chapel Hill ISD and Linden-Kildare CISD have not responded to KETK’s requests for comment on the list. The TEA said they expect more teachers to be named and that this list is just the first batch of educators that have been flagged.
