NY Lawmakers Discuss Creating Tougher Penalties For Cheating On Standardized Tests

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Should there be tougher criminal penalties for students who cheat on the SAT's? That's the focus of Tuesday's meeting of the Senate Committee on Higher Education in Albany.

LISTEN: 1010 WINS' Mona Rivera reports

Members are discussing security and a possible increase in criminal penalties for those found guilty of cheating on the standardized test.

Chairman Kenneth Lavalle says it's not just the students who should be held accountable.

"Because you also have third accomplices here, meaning the parents." he said, adding parents could face criminal penalties for providing money to test takers.

The meeting follows a Nassau County cheating scandal and dozens of arrests. Former Great Neck North high school student Sam Eshaghoff admitted being paid to the take the exams for struggling students.

He reportedly accepted a plea deal, requiring him to tutor low-income students on SAT strategies.

WCBS 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs On The Story

At least 20 high school students from the Great Neck area have been implicated in the scandal.

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