BERKELEY, Calif., April 19 (UPI) -- As the result of an attendance scam 50 Berkeley, Calif., high school students face suspension, officials say.
By paying for an administrative password to attendance software called PowerSchool, Berkeley High School students were able to manipulate attendance data. The scheme allowed for students to skip classes without their parents being informed -- until spring break began April 2 and administrators discovered the breach.
It took 50 to 80 hours for the school's attendance team to determine the magnitude of the scam, The Berkeley Voice reported.
The administration plans to suspend 50 students, including the four who allegedly obtained and sold the passwords.
Berkeley High School employs a dean of attendance and three clerical workers to keep tabs on some 3,200 students.
Principal Pasquale Scuderi called the scam a "teachable moment" -- one nearly impossible to skip, it seems.
