Law & Courts News in Brief

Ex-Officials Indicted in Dropout-Data Case

By The Associated Press — March 06, 2012 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Two former Houston school administrators, indicted last month after a two-year probe, could face prison time on charges they altered student-dropout records.

Peggy Collins and Dolores Westmoreland, former employees of Key Middle School and Kashmere High, are accused of tampering with government records to cover up the true number of dropouts, according to the Harris County district attorney’s office.

The indictments stem from an investigation that the 203,000-student Houston Independent School District released in 2010. As a result the Texas Education Agency temporarily suspended the district’s accreditation.

Ms. Collins, a business manager, and Ms. Westmoreland, a dean of instruction, worked together at Key and then at Kashmere, in a high-poverty Houston neighborhood.

Ms. Collins’ lawyer, state Rep. Harold Dutton, said he could only speak generally about the case.

“There was lots of pressure from HISD on these schools to do what they could to improve their dropout statistics,” he said.

If convicted, each could face a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Related Tags:

A version of this article appeared in the March 08, 2012 edition of Education Week as Ex-Officials Indicted in Dropout-Data Case

Events

Teaching Profession K-12 Essentials Forum New Insights Into the Teaching Profession
Join this free virtual event to get exclusive insights from Education Week's State of Teaching project.
Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and K-12 education jubs at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Mathematics K-12 Essentials Forum Helping Students Succeed in Math

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Law & Courts Supreme Court Decision Lets Students Sue Schools More Easily for Disability Bias
The justices ruled unanimously that students with disabilities need not meet a more stringent standard when suing under two federal laws.
5 min read
The Tharpe family, pictured outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2025.
The Tharpe family, pictured outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2025.
Mark Walsh/Education Week
Law & Courts Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Reinstate Ed. Dept. Layoffs
The administration asks the U.S. Supreme Court to remove an injunction blocking the layoffs of nearly 1,400 department employees
4 min read
Attorneys from the Education Department's General Counsel Office Emily Merolli, second left, and Shaw Vanze in the back, second right, are greeted by supporters after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington on March 24, 2025.
Attorneys from the U.S. Education Department's General Counsel Office Emily Merolli, second left, and Shaw Vanze in the back, second right, are greeted by supporters after retrieving their personal belongings from the department's headquarters in Washington on March 24, 2025. The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to undo a federal district court injunction that would reinstate some 1,400 employees laid off from the department.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts A Court Told Trump to Reverse Ed. Dept. Layoffs. Will It Happen?
A judge ruled May 22 that the Trump administration had to reinstate laid-off Ed. Dept. staffers. They're still not back on the job.
6 min read
Supporters hold signs and cheer Education Department employees as they leave after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington, Monday, March 24, 2025.
Supporters hold signs and cheer Education Department employees as they leave after retrieving their personal belongings from the Education Department building in Washington, Monday, March 24, 2025. A judge has ordered the reinstatement of terminated department employees, but they have yet to return to work.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Law & Courts Appeals Court Ruling Raises Bar for Challenging School Book Bans
A federal appeals court rejected a challenge to book removals in a Texas public library and overruled a precedent on school library cases.
6 min read
Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023.
Books sit on shelves in an elementary school library in suburban Atlanta on Aug. 18, 2023. A federal appeals court covering Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas has made it more difficult for public and school library patrons to challenge book removal decisions.
Hakim Wright Sr./AP