FBI U.S. Education Department investigating Ballou graduation scandal
Ballou
The nature of the inquiry is unclear  but the probe is focused on Ballou High School  where allegations were first raised about diplomas wrongly awarded to chronically truant students. The federal agencies involved are the FBI and the U.S. Department of Education Inspector General’s Office. Those agencies and the D.C. Inspector General’s Office declined to comment and would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.
The current and former District employees said investigators are reviewing what happened at  Ballou  last year  when more than half of the class graduated despite missing too much school — with some seniors racking up more than 100 absences.
In January  a school system attorney went to  Ballou  and met with educators who taught ­seniors during the 2016-2017 academic year and asked them to turn over documents as part of a “federal investigation ” according to government employees familiar with the visit. The attorney asked the teachers to hand over paper documentation they still had from students  including sign-in sheets  notes on parent-teacher conferences or behavior incidents.
The existence of an investigation adds another dimension to a scandal that has engulfed the school system since November  when allegations arose that Ballou permitted students to graduate even when they barely showed up to school.
Records shared with The Washington Post by a former schools employee showed that some students missed more than 100 days of school but still received diplomas and that other students were allowed to take makeup classes in violation of district policy. Emails shared with The Post showed that  the Ballou principal  instructed teachers to improperly input grades.  The principal  did not respond to inquiries about grading.
[Before a graduation scandal made headlines  teachers at D.C.’s Ballou High raised an alarm]
In the aftermath of the revelations  the district removed four school leaders  including the  Ballou  and Dunbar principals  the assistant principal at  Ballou  and the secondary schools chief.
The nature of the inquiry is unclear  but the probe is focused on Ballou High School  where allegations were first raised about diplomas wrongly awarded to chronically truant students. The federal agencies involved are the FBI and the U.S. Department of Education Inspector General’s Office. Those agencies and the D.C. Inspector General’s Office declined to comment and would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.
The current and former District employees said investigators are reviewing what happened at  [TGT]last year  when more than half of the class graduated despite missing too much school — with some seniors racking up more than 100 absences.
In January  a school system attorney went to [TGT]and met with educators who taught ­seniors during the 2016-2017 academic year and asked them to turn over documents as part of a “federal investigation ” according to government employees familiar with the visit. The attorney asked the teachers to hand over paper documentation they still had from students  including sign-in sheets  notes on parent-teacher conferences or behavior incidents.
The existence of an investigation adds another dimension to a scandal that has engulfed the school system since November  when allegations arose that [TGT] permitted students to graduate even when they barely showed up to school.
Records shared with The Washington Post by a former schools employee showed that some students missed more than 100 days of school but still received diplomas and that other students were allowed to take makeup classes in violation of district policy. Emails shared with The Post showed that  [TGT]instructed teachers to improperly input grades.  [TGT]did not respond to inquiries about grading.
[Before a graduation scandal made headlines  teachers at D.C.’s Ballou High raised an alarm]
In the aftermath of the revelations  the district removed four school leaders  including the  [TGT]and Dunbar principals  the assistant principal at  [TGT]and the secondary schools chief.