Date: Monday, June 27, 2005
By: Frank Eltman, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - An assistant principal at a Long Island high school was arraigned Monday on a misdemeanor charge of official misconduct after allegedly giving his son the answers to a global history Regents exam last week, state officials said.
Isben Jeudy, 40, was released on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty at his arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead before Judge Valerie Bullard, said a spokesman for state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
According to Spitzer and state Education Commissioner Richard Mills, Jeudy was responsible for keeping the questions and answers to the year-end final exams secure as part of his duties as assistant principal at Jericho High School. The exams are administered by the state Board of Regents -- the overseer of school policy.
Last Tuesday, an official at John Glenn High School in Elwood -- about 20 miles east of Jericho -- discovered Jeudy's son, Jerrell Jeudy, 16, had blue writing on his hand while taking the same global history Regents exam, Spitzer and Mills said in a joint statement.
A closer look by a teacher overseeing the exam found the teenager's hand allegedly had "an exact copy of the answers to approximately 35 questions" from the multiple choice portion of the test, the statement said.
Glenn school officials then contacted Henry Grishman, superintendent of the Jericho schools, who found that the global history Regents exam answer key had been unsealed. Under normal circumstances, the answer key is not to be opened until after the exam is over; in this case, that would have been several hours later, officials said.
Grishman said a letter is being sent to all parents of high school students in Jericho, telling them that the "incident will not compromise the validity of any of our June Regents examinations."
He noted that Jeudy had already submitted his resignation as vice principal in order to take a principal's job in another school district. He said state officials have said "there is no reason to believe that the charge and allegations involve any other Jericho staff, students or community members."
A spokeswoman for the Uniondale School District, which hired Jeudy as principal 3 1/2 months ago, said he is still "scheduled to assume his position on July 5. The school district and its legal council will review the issues being raised and take the appropriate actions after investigating the matter."
It was not immediately clear what sanctions, if any, would be placed on Jeudy's son. A call seeking comment from the Elwood School District superintendent was not immediately returned.
Jeudy was expected back in Nassau County Court on July 25. A call for comment left with his attorney was not immediately returned.
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Wednesday, June 29th 2005 at 11:42AM
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