Two San Antonio teachers caught up in a Houston-based teacher certification scandal quietly left Northside Independent School District this year, and one of them is still facing active state scrutiny. The Houston probe triggered administrative leaves and months of awkward questions after prosecutors alleged a pay-to-pass operation that let would-be teachers get certified without actually taking their own exams. For families and educators in the Alamo City, the local list of implicated names is shorter now, but state investigators are still working to figure out how far the scheme reached.
Northside ISD officials said the Texas Education Agency notified the district about the investigation on Feb. 5. The district placed Colin Taylor and Alin Edouard on administrative leave that same month. As reported by MySA, Edouard resigned on March 18 and his Texas educator certificate expired on April 25. Taylor resigned on May 30, and TEA records show his certificate is still active through March 2028, but it is currently listed as under review.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
Harris County prosecutors have described the operation as a Houston-area pay-to-pass network that charged about $2,500 per client. According to the Houston Chronicle, court documents allege that proxy test takers and cooperating testing staff helped clients secure fraudulent passing scores on teacher certification exams. Those same records estimate more than 400 bogus tests and more than 200 teachers who should not have been certified in the first place. A press release from the Attorney General's Office states that indictments in the case were returned in October 2024.
TEA names and a statewide review
The Texas Education Agency has been working its way through a statewide review, identifying educators under investigation and alerting their school districts. Local TV stations obtained TEA lists that show dozens of names tied to the probe. As reported by Click2Houston, the agency added 60 more names this winter, and investigators say they have seen suspicious patterns, such as teachers failing exams in their home cities, then passing the same tests just hours later at Houston testing sites.
Local fallout in San Antonio
Northside officials say campuses focused on keeping classrooms covered while investigators checked on teachers' credentials. District spokespeople confirmed both the TEA notification and the administrative leaves for Edouard and Taylor. According to KSAT, the timeline shows both teachers were placed on administrative leave in February 2025, and they are the only San Antonio-area names appearing on the TEA list linked to the certification scheme.
What this means for teachers' licenses
According to the Texas Education Agency, investigators can post an investigative warning on an educator's certificate, place individuals on the Do Not Hire Registry, and pursue suspensions or full revocation of credentials through the State Board for Educator Certification. TEA notes that some cases are paused if there are related criminal proceedings, and outcomes can range from a simple case closure to a contested hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Criminal cases in Harris County are still unfolding. Judges have ordered prosecutors to spell out more detail in some indictments, and prosecutors have both filed charges and defended them against legal challenges in court. The Houston Chronicle reported on one judge's order seeking greater specificity, while Click2Houston has published the TEA lists that helped connect Houston-area names to districts across Texas.
