As students we’re quickly taught that getting caught cheating will get you in serious trouble, whether that be in the form of detention, suspension, or even expulsion. However, an Atlanta judge decided yesterday that when teachers, principals, and administrators decide to cheat their punishment could be much harsher–jail time.

In a courtroom Tuesday, Judge Jerry Baxter of Fulton County Superior Court sentenced ten former Atlanta Public School educators convicted of conspiring to falsify state standardized tests to collect bonuses in a cheating scandal. According to Judge Baxter’s rulings, all but one will be serving time in jail, according to USA Today.

Atlanta educators were guaranteed bonuses by inflating scores: Ringleader got $500K http://t.co/oquKMYLMqw pic.twitter.com/9QoMm6icoL

— slone (@slone) April 14, 2015

According to the Washington Post, three high-level school system administrators were told they would serve seven years in prison and 13 years on probation plus 2,000 hours of community service and a $25,000 fine, which was much harsher sentencing than prosecutors had requested.

Five others were sentenced to either a year in prison and four years on probation or two years in prison and three on probation; they must also pay fines and complete community service time.

Two of the defendants negotiated lighter sentences in exchange for admitting guilt and apologizing in court for their actions, as well as waiving their rights to appeal. While both face community service and fines, this allowed for one of them to serve his time in the county jail for only six months on weekends, while the other avoided jail time altogether but was sentenced to one year of nightly home confinement.

Judge Baxter’s sentencing severity came as a surprise to many, since cases of academic fraud usually end with little more than a slap on the wrist for offenders. In defense of his sentencing, he was quick to remind the courtroom that these educators cheated some of the city’s most vulnerable children by deluding them into believing that they were learning reading and math skills. Judge Baxter said:

That’s what gets lost. Everyone starts crying about these educators. . . .There were thousands of children that were harmed in this thing.This is not a victimless crime that occurred in this city.

However some are actually calling the educators themselves victims of a “corrupt educational system.” Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., initially called for leniency and no jail time for the Atlanta educators after they were convicted this month, saying in a statement:

Teachers are under tremendous pressure to meet standards and ensure that students pass tests, even to the extent that their jobs, their livelihoods may be threatened.

The sentencing doled out yesterday in many ways does seem harsh, but even if there was pressure for these teachers to help their underachieving students pass, moral ethics should have trumped cheating hypocrisy. Judge Baxter is sending a strong message that when it comes to protecting the education of our children and ensuring that they have bright futures, cheating won’t be tolerated.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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