Atlanta educators jail time, Ten former Atlanta public school educators, convicted earlier this month of racketeering in one of the nation's largest test-cheating scandals, should consider plea deals or face likely prison time, a judge said on Monday.
During a sentencing hearing, Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter said he had been ready to send the defendants to prison, but hoped to resolve a long-running case likely to see appeals.
"I'd prefer for this thing to be ended for everybody, to try to help heal the open wounds in this city, in this school system," he told a packed courtroom, after hearing emotional appeals for leniency from civil rights leaders and the educators' relatives.
"You've been punished a good bit so far," he told the defendants who have been jailed since a jury found them guilty on April 1.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said the educators must accept responsibility during plea discussions.
The hearing was to resume later Monday, with sentencing possible in the afternoon or Tuesday.
A state investigation found widespread cheating throughout the Atlanta school district on 2009 standardized tests.
During a trial that lasted nearly six months, prosecutors accused the former educators of erasing incorrect answers or instructing students to change their answers so the educators could secure promotions and cash bonuses.
A Georgia grand jury in 2013 indicted 35 Atlanta educators, including former school superintendent Beverly Hall, on conspiracy and other charges.
Of the 12 indicted educators who stood trial on the charges, 11 were found guilty.
Bernice King, daughter of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., last week urged the judge to spare the 11 educators from prison. One is pregnant and due to be sentenced in August.
"I think these teachers got caught in a trap," civil rights leader Andrew Young, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and mayor ofAtlanta, told the judge at Monday's hearing.
It is unusual for teachers and principals to end up in prison for test cheating, said Bob Schaeffer, education director for FairTest, a nonprofit scrutinizing testing practices.
Hall, named national superintendent the year the cheating took place, died earlier this year of breast cancer.
Former elementary school principal Dana Evans said she was broke and unsuccessfully applied 100 jobs last year.
"I have been arrested, shackled, spent the last two week in jail. I have been punished," she said, apologizing for the turmoil caused.
During a sentencing hearing, Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter said he had been ready to send the defendants to prison, but hoped to resolve a long-running case likely to see appeals.
"I'd prefer for this thing to be ended for everybody, to try to help heal the open wounds in this city, in this school system," he told a packed courtroom, after hearing emotional appeals for leniency from civil rights leaders and the educators' relatives.
"You've been punished a good bit so far," he told the defendants who have been jailed since a jury found them guilty on April 1.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said the educators must accept responsibility during plea discussions.
The hearing was to resume later Monday, with sentencing possible in the afternoon or Tuesday.
A state investigation found widespread cheating throughout the Atlanta school district on 2009 standardized tests.
During a trial that lasted nearly six months, prosecutors accused the former educators of erasing incorrect answers or instructing students to change their answers so the educators could secure promotions and cash bonuses.
A Georgia grand jury in 2013 indicted 35 Atlanta educators, including former school superintendent Beverly Hall, on conspiracy and other charges.
Of the 12 indicted educators who stood trial on the charges, 11 were found guilty.
Bernice King, daughter of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., last week urged the judge to spare the 11 educators from prison. One is pregnant and due to be sentenced in August.
"I think these teachers got caught in a trap," civil rights leader Andrew Young, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and mayor ofAtlanta, told the judge at Monday's hearing.
It is unusual for teachers and principals to end up in prison for test cheating, said Bob Schaeffer, education director for FairTest, a nonprofit scrutinizing testing practices.
Hall, named national superintendent the year the cheating took place, died earlier this year of breast cancer.
Former elementary school principal Dana Evans said she was broke and unsuccessfully applied 100 jobs last year.
"I have been arrested, shackled, spent the last two week in jail. I have been punished," she said, apologizing for the turmoil caused.
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