It's bad enough when professional ID thieves distribute fake or stolen Social Security numbers to illegal aliens, but the school system of a major city is doing the same thing as a matter of policy—a disturbing marker in the decreasing respect for law in America.

There's no mention of possible prosecution in the article, which is a little sketchy about the legal aspects of the case.

"Years after being advised by a state agency to stop, the Dallas Independent School District continued to provide foreign citizens with fake Social Security numbers to get them on the payroll quickly.

Some of the numbers were real Social Security numbers already assigned to people elsewhere. And in some cases, the state's educator certification office unknowingly used the bogus numbers to run criminal background checks on the new hires, most of whom were brought in to teach bilingual classes.

The practice was described in an internal report issued in September by the district's investigative office, which looked into the matter after receiving a tip. The report said the Texas Education Agency learned of the fake numbers in 2004 and told DISD then that the practice "was illegal." [Dallas ISD faulted for using fake Social Security numbers, By Tawnell D. Hobbs, The Dallas Morning News, November 14, 2008]