The Slatest

Atlanta School Officials Sentenced to Prison in Cheating Case

Judge Jerry Baxter speaks at Tuesday’s sentencing.

Kent D. Johnson/Pool/TPX Image of the Day/Reuters

Three Atlanta public schools administrators were sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for racketeering convictions related to a massive standardized-test cheating scandal. Six other educators, including two teachers, also received sentences including imprisonment. From the New York Times:

A state investigation completed in 2011 found that nearly 180 school system employees were complicit, in some cases gathering at cheating parties to erase incorrect test answers and fill in the correct ones. A Fulton County grand jury later indicted 35 educators, including the former schools superintendent Beverly L. Hall, who had previously been celebrated for her data-driven management style and the gains she appeared to have made at the school system.

Twenty-one of the educators reached plea agreements. Dr. Hall maintained her innocence but died before she could stand trial, as did one other defendant.

Of the dozen accused educators who went to trial, one was acquitted and one was not sentenced Tuesday because she recently gave birth. Another accepted a sentencing agreement that allowed her to avoid jail time.