TEA clears EPISD of wrongdoing

Investigators with the Texas Education Agency cleared the El Paso Independent School District of TAKS cheating allegations that took place at Bowie High School in 2008. But Senator Eliot Shapleigh, who first brought these allegations to light, said district officials aren’t off the hook yet. “I can’t wait for the feds to get to El Paso, so we can this thing completely investigated, get the facts on the table, and the folks who were involved, get ’em prosecuted,” Shapleigh said in a phone interview. Federal officials have now launched their own investigation into alleged wrongdoing. Shapleigh is accusing the district of illegally keeping hundreds of low performing students from taking the TAKS test. He said district officials transferred students, held them back, and even deported others to boost scores from that year. “What happened at Bowie is highly illegal and they knew it when they were doing it,” Shapleigh said. Shapleigh said TEA investigators just didn’t do a through job. He said they never visited El Paso or talked to witnesses about the alleged wrongdoing. As Shapleigh continues his allegations of misconduct, Bowie High School principal Jesus Chavez said the school community is celebrating the results. “Our kids have been the one taking the test,” Chavez said. “It’s their school. It’s their rating. It’s about the kids. So for our kids at Bowie, this is what is most rewarding, that they themselves know that we are doing the right thing for them.”