DA: Chair Of Peekskill HS Social Studies Dept. Charged With Altering Regent Exams

PEEKSKILL, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The chair of the social studies department at Peekskill High School has been charged with altering grades on Regent exams, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office said.

Allison Risoli was arraigned Monday on two counts of offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree, prosecutors said.

Sometime between Jan. 24 and Jan. 31, Risoli altered the answer sheets for two students on the U.S. History and Government Regents exam and the Global History and Geography Regents exam, authorities said.

Both students passed after their scores were changed, prosecutors said.

As the chair of the social studies department, Risoli is responsible for delivering completed tests to the Peekskill City School District Data Analyst.

She allegedly changed the scores several days after the tests were administered by telling the data analyst that the sheets needed to be "reviewed," prosecutors said.

That's when authorities said she changed the answers by marking the incorrect answer with an "X" and filling in the correct answer and returned the tests to the data analyst.

It's not clear who discovered the alleged changes to the tests.

Risoli was released on her own recognizance and is due back in court June 3. If convicted, she faces up to four years in prison on each count.

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