Teacher Feels Pressure To Pass Failing Athletes

EL PASO- It's rumored to happen all over the country at every level: schools giving athletes special privileges because of the big game.

But now one Bowie High School teacher says it's gone too far. The teacher says some athletes are graduating in less than a week, when they haven't earned the grade.

The teacher wouldn't go on camera with us because she fears for her job, but she says the administration at Bowie High has been asking teachers to give certain athletes passing grades so they can graduate. They are questioning and even reprimanding teachers who have failed athletes who have promising college scholarships.

And she says this isn't the first year this has happened.

We spoke with two Bowie students who say they have firsthand experience with athletes getting their grades bumped up. They wouldn't show their face on camera for fear of retaliation by the administration.

“I don't think it's fair that they never went to school and the whole semester and now they're just graduating like nothing and we had to do some hard work,” says one student.

Another student says he's friends with several athletes who have told them how they're graduating.

“There are people who are helping the sport players that are football players, softball players or baseball players who are not passing his or her classes and they are graduating,” says a second student.

EPISD tells NewsChannel 9 that all school districts across Texas are encouraged to offer credit recovery options to help students graduate. All students are provided the opportunity to receive credit recovery options.

They also say they couldn't investigate the teacher's allegations without more specific information.