State orders three years of audits for SCS following grade tampering issues

The Tennessee Department of Education will require additional audits of Shelby County Schools for the next three years in the wake of a grade-tampering scandal.

According to a Dec. 11 letter from Education Commissioner Candice McQueen, the results of an investigation released Dec. 5 into grading issues at Trezevant High School were "extremely troubling."

That investigation revealed at least 53 students graduated without earning a diploma thanks to more than 1,000 grade changes made with one secretary's computer login.

SCS has pledged, and in some cases has already begun, to strengthen its transcript grade-changing practices, protocols and processes, including additional staff training. Grades can be properly changed if students complete makeup work with proper documentation and approval.

McQueen praised SCS for its transparency, but said the state will require audits "to monitor adherence to these new practices."

"Due to the nature of the findings, possible scope of the findings, and the discovery that over 50 students were passed from course to course and then eventually granted diplomas without completing courses at proficiency, it is critical that the state have assurances that corrections that can be made at this point have occurred," the letter said.

School districts across the state are already audited annually, but SCS will receive a higher level of scrutiny.

"As this is still ongoing, the exact nature of those audits, what they will look for, and how they will be conducted is still to be determined," state spokeswoman Sara Gast said in an email. "We will make those decisions as we learn more from the district."

SCS did not respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

In a second letter, dated Dec. 22, McQueen demanded answers to specific questions regarding the district's response to the Trezevant findings. In that letter, McQueen notes a conference call that took place between the state and SCS on Dec. 20. The previous day, SCS released a statement saying the principal at another school, Hamilton High, was disciplined for a grade-changing issue. The district suspended principal Monekea Smith without pay pending her termination.

McQueen's letter asks SCS to provide information on who within the district is responsible for entering, editing or having access to students' grades or the grading system. She also requested agendas from training sessions held, and all written policies and procedures regarding grade reporting.

"Please include what policies and procedures are new and were adopted as a result of this issue," the letter states.

In a list of questions, McQueen asks SCS, "Why does SCS leadership think the problem occurred?"

The letter also asks, "What is SCS’s plan to review, on a case by case basis, the transcripts of students, still enrolled in SCS, whose grades were improperly changed?"

The letter does not set a deadline, but asks SCS to respond to questions "as you learn the answers."

Before the investigation report from Butler Snow law firm, a school secretary, Shirley Quinn, resigned before she could be terminated following an earlier internal investigation in the fall of 2016.

But the external review led to the school board voting to begin the process of firing former Trezevant football coach Teli White.

The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury's office is investigating Trezevant at the request of Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich. Those investigators have the freedom to expand their investigation as necessary.

"Superintendent (Dorsey) Hopson has been clear that the District will continue to fully cooperate with any authorities who have questions about the investigation," the district said in a statement in response to the comptroller launching its inquiry last month.

At least seven other schools are also being investigated by Dixon Hughes Goodman auditing firm for high numbers of grade changes from 2012-2016.

Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.