This “F” stands for repair!
Queens faculty bosses modified a complicated placement pupil’s F grade to spice up scores — then set their sights on the trainer who blew the whistle on the alleged grade fixing, a bombshell federal lawsuit claims.
Data Expertise Excessive Faculty English trainer Susan Muzafar, 33, failed an unnamed pupil however her superiors modified the grade with out telling her after which hit her with disciplinary actions as revenge, she stated in a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court docket.
The transfer is only one instance of bosses on the Lengthy Island Metropolis faculty and the town Division of Training turning up the warmth on educators to cross undeserving college students, in keeping with the lawsuit.
“It opens up an enormous can of worms. Not each pupil who handed at the highschool earned a passing grade from the trainer,” a supply at the highschool informed The Publish.
Muzafar allegedly blew the whistle by submitting complaints with the Particular Commissioner of Faculty Investigation and the Faculty Board — which runs increased degree superior placement programs .
Principal Jean Woods Powell then retaliated by giving Muzafar poor evaluations and limiting her assignments for extra pay, the criticism stated.
The Might 1 go well with says SCI knowledgeable Muzafar that it had opened an investigation into her grade fixing allegations.
“This retaliation commenced after she [Muzafar] reported, each internally and to entities exterior the NYCDOE, considerations about administrative misconduct, together with fraudulent pupil grading practices, improper pupil course placements, and violations of academic protocols at her presently assigned faculty, at Data Expertise Excessive Faculty in Queens,” her lawyer, Bryan Glass, wrote within the lawsuit.
Muzafar talked about the case of considered one of her college students recognized as “M.H.,” which the go well with claims is emblematic of adjusting grades and scores from failing to passing on the faculty.
“The grade change for M.H …exemplified ITHS’s sample and observe of enrolling unqualified college students in superior lessons and giving them unearned passing grades,” the go well with stated.
“M.H. was one such pupil,” the go well with stated.
The Publish has beforehand reported on quite a few claims about alleged grade fixing and dishonest scandals at metropolis excessive colleges over the previous decade.
Metropolis excessive colleges are allowed to supply second likelihood “make-up work” and “credit score restoration” packages to assist failing college students cross with the objective of incomes sufficient credit score to graduate. Academics have lengthy complained these are academically lax lessons are used to cross youngsters who haven’t met necessities or had been no-shows through the semester.
Below state regulation, attendance can’t be used to grade a pupil.
The United Federation of Academics union contract states, “the trainer’s judgment in grading college students is to be revered. Subsequently if a principal adjustments a pupil’s grade in any topic for a grading interval, the principal shall notify the trainer of the explanation in writing.”
On the finish of the 2024-2025 faculty 12 months, Muzafar, who is also licensed to show English as a Second Language and has taught for eight years, stated she deliberate to provide pupil M.H. a failing grade in her AP English Literature class.
The coed had “constantly failed to finish assignments in a passable method”, and averaged 55.6% on formative assessments, 60.5% on homework, 56.4% on participation, and 83.4% on summative assessments, go well with stated.
However the repair was in, the go well with claimed.
On June 12, 2025, assistant principal Elicia Rodriguez informed pupil M.H. to finish work on a Google classroom task in order that he may cross Muzafar’s class, Muzafar claimed.
Muzafar then provided the scholar an alternate “boot camp,” an end-of-year week-long session the place struggling college students obtain one last alternative to finish their work.
However she stated M.H. flunked once more — so she allegedly entered a failing grade for the scholar into Jupiter, the net gradebook system utilized by ITHS.
The go well with then claimed “an unknown administrator transformed M.H.’s grade to a passing one with out Ms. Muzafar’s information or consent.”
Muzafar’s go well with said that when she began asking questions concerning the modified grade, she landed in bother and obtained “three threatening disciplinary letters” from the college administration, the go well with stated.
The administration had eliminated her from per session positions and management roles, thus denying her alternatives for extra pay she beforehand obtained. She makes greater than $85,000 per 12 months, metropolis data present.
In response to the grade change, Muzafar submitted formal complaints alleging ITHS was “not correctly programming college students” and putting unprepared college students in AP lessons.
After submitting the complaints, Principal Woods noticed Ms. Muzafar’s AP class and issued her an statement report that gave her all “growing” or poor rankings, the go well with claims.
Muzafar, a tenured trainer, submitted a union criticism difficult her poor statement ranking as “retaliatory.”
The knives had been out, the go well with claimed.
A college social employee with “very shut social ties” to the administration filed a criticism about Muzafar, she claimed.
And in March of this 12 months, Principal Woods “falsely” claimed Muzafar was “curving grades, inflicting her to have a “panic assault,” the go well with stated.
Muzafar realized from the Jupiter knowledge system assist staff that directors and different workers had allegedly accessed her gradebook for college kids “with out her information” greater than 40 instances, in keeping with the go well with.
On March 16, Muzafar spoke to her fall semester co-teacher, Liberto Rollon, about adjustments to her college students’ grades for the autumn semester, the go well with alleged. Rollon confirmed she curved her college students’ grades, in keeping with the doc.
“The relentless retaliation, within the type of a number of disciplinary conferences, disciplinary letters, a poor statement, and lack of per session assignments, has brought on Ms. Muzafar extreme emotional misery, together with a panic assault on March 11, 2026, which compelled her to go away work,” the go well with stated.
The go well with stated the retaliation led Muzafar to re-enroll in remedy and use pharmaceuticals “to handle the psychological penalties.”
Muzafar is asking a choose for unspecified damages, accusing the college of violating her First Modification free speech rights and breaking the state civil service regulation.
A metropolis Division of Training spokesperson stated, “We can not touch upon any litigation or confidential investigations.”
