The state auditor’s office has released a report that basically says the Texas Education Agency isn’t doing its job to uncover cheating scandals.
The report, done at the request of Education Commissioner Michael Williams, says TEA “failed” to do its due diligence when it looked into cheating allegations in the El Paso Independent School District.
TEA began its investigation at the request of the U.S. Department of Education after an El Paso elected official made the allegations. But the agency said it couldn’t substantiate the cheating claims.
The issue didn’t end there. Two independent investigations later determined that there had been widespread cheating in the district.
The auditor’s report lays out specific areas where TEA failed, including that it “neglected to investigate all of the cheating allegations” and that it did most of its investigating from Austin – not El Paso.
How’s TEA responding? Earlier today, it announced it would be creating an Office of Complaints, Investigations and School Accountability.
You can read more about the El Paso cheating scandal here.
