Ohio school district uncovers senior class cheating scandal, cancels graduation

October 13th, 2009 Sewage stink forces Ohio school to dismiss earlyRIVERSIDE, Ohio — A high school in Ohio had to dismiss students shortly after they arrived for the day because a plumbing problem filled the building with the smell of raw sewage. School district officials said the odor was from a restroom vent pipe that became disconnected at Stebbins High School in the Dayton suburb of Riverside.

September 30th, 2009 Suspicious packages close Minn. school districtPRINCETON, Minn.

September 10th, 2009 Georgia commission votes to suspend educatorsATLANTA — The Georgia Professional Standards Commission has temporarily suspended the teaching licenses of two DeKalb County educators accused in a cheating scandal. The commission voted Thursday on a two-year suspension for former Atherton Elementary principal James Berry, and a one-year suspension for former assistant principal Doretha Alexander.

August 28th, 2009 Vatican: Berlusconi cancels L'Aquila visitVATICAN CITY — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi who is embroiled in a sex scandal has canceled a visit to L'Aquila for a religious service for the remission of sins. Berlusconi was supposed to have participated in the observation Friday alongside Vatican No.

June 23rd, 2009 15 who protested LA teacher cuts denied diplomasLOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles school district says 15 students were denied diplomas at their eighth-grade graduation because they protested impending teacher layoffs. The students at Liechty (LAY'-stee) Middle School in East Los Angeles turned their backs on school board President Monica Garcia during Thursday's ceremonies.

June 17th, 2009 Maine student who blew kiss to mom denied diplomaPORTLAND, Maine — A Maine high school senior says he was denied his diploma because he bowed during graduation and blew a kiss to his mother. Justin Denney was about to receive his Bonny Eagle High School diploma Friday when he pointed at friends and relatives.

June 5th, 2009 Ohio district catches cheaters, cancels graduationCOLUMBUS, Ohio — An Ohio school district says it uncovered a cheating scheme so pervasive that it had to cancel graduation ceremonies for its 60 seniors — but will still mail their diplomas. A senior at Centerburg High School accessed teachers' computers, found tests, printed them and distributed them to classmates, administrators said.

June 2nd, 2009 Judge allows public school commencement at churchMILWAUKEE — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a Wisconsin school district may continue to hold its graduation ceremonies in a church because the location doesn't necessarily make it a religious event. U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert ruled in a lawsuit brought by Americans United for Separation of Church and State against a district in a Milwaukee suburb.

May 14th, 2009 Ohio's winningest coach gets another yearKALIDA, Ohio — The winningest high school boys basketball coach in Ohio has been kept on by a school board that had hinted it wanted him to retire. Wednesday night's decision means 75-year-old Dick Kortokrax will have at least one more year at Kalida (kuh-LY'-duh) High School in northwest Ohio.

May 14th, 2009 Ohio's winningest HS boys coach gets another yearKALIDA, Ohio — The winningest high school boys baseball coach in Ohio has been kept on by a school board that had hinted it wanted him to retire. Wednesday night's decision means 75-year-old Dick Kortokrax will have at least one more year at Kalida (kuh-LY'-duh) High School in northwest Ohio.

May 4th, 2009 Graduation 2 years later at Bluffton, OhioGRADUATION DAY: Tim Berta was two months away from graduating at Bluffton University in Ohio when he was suffered serious head injuries in a 2007 bus accident that killed five baseball players. On Sunday, he got his diploma.

April 24th, 2009 Chinese school admits age fraud in soccer tourneyBEIJING — A Chinese high school principal has admitted his girls' soccer team was filled with players from the junior national squad and apologized for the fraud, state media reported Friday. Daping Junior High's Zhang Jianling said that only three of the 15 team members sent to an international girls tournament in Turkey actually attended his school in the Yuzhong district of the western city of Chongqing.

April 24th, 2009 School admits to using ring ins for tournamentBEIJING — A Chinese high school principal has admitted his girls' football team was supplimented with players from the junior national squad and apologised for the fraud, state media reported Friday. Daping Junior High's Zhang Jianling said that just three of the 15 team members sent to an international girls high school tournament in Turkey actually attended his school in the Yuzhong district of the western city of Chongqing.

April 23rd, 2009 Florida State appeals part of NCAA sanctionsTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State has appealed to the NCAA to reduce sanctions in a cheating scandal so the school won't have to forfeit victories in 10 sports, including up to 14 in football.

April 22nd, 2009 Graduation rate breakdown by cityA breakdown of the 2005 graduation rates in the 50 largest cities, along with the percentage point changes in this rate between 1995 and 2005. Source: Editorial Projects in Education Research Center based on Education Department data