May 11, 2015
JACKSON, Miss. – Former Heidelberg Elementary School teacher Francis Smith-Kemp, who has been charged with violating state law by cheating on state assessments, has been granted a continuance for her hearing before the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development.
The new hearing date will be June 16.
The Mississippi Department of Education is seeking to revoke the license of Smith-Kemp, who is currently a teacher at Oakhurst Intermediate School in Clarksdale. The MDE issued an administrative complaint against Smith-Kemp on April 23. Her original hearing date was set for May 11.
The complaint issued against Smith-Kemp is the first complaint filed as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of testing irregularities at HES.
The complaint against Smith-Kemp outlines two counts of acts, which if proven, constitute violations of state law pertaining to mandatory state testing. Specifically, the counts are:
- Count 1: The Respondent coached examinees during testing or altered or interfered with examinees’ responses during the administration of the 2013 Mississippi Curriculum Test Second Edition (MCT2) in violation of § 37-16-4(1)(c) of the Mississippi Code of 1972
- Count 2: The Respondent participated in, directed, aided, counseled, assisted in, encouraged or failed to report any acts in violation of § 37-16-4(1)(f) of the Mississippi Code of 1972, during the administration of the 2013 Mississippi Curriculum Test Second Edition (MCT2)
Those actions are grounds for revocation of Smith-Kemp’s teaching license.
Media Contact:
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR
Director of Communications
601-359-3706
Jean Cook, APR
Communications Specialist
601-359-3519