NYC School Accused Of Targeting Teacher Who Blew The Whistle On Grade Inflation

Interesting advanced placement, department of education, high school, lawsuit, new york city admin July 6, 2026 0 Comments

NYC School Accused Of Targeting Teacher Who Blew The Whistle On Grade Inflation

The administration at a New York City high school allegedly targeted a teacher after she exposed a grade-fixing scheme, according to a lawsuit filed by the teacher.

Information Technology High School (ITHS) administrators changed an advanced placement (AP) student’s F grade without properly notifying high school English teacher Suzan Muzafar, according to school policy. After Muzafar filed internal and external complaints about the grade fix, school bosses allegedly targeted her with disciplinary action, The New York Post reported.

Muzafar filed a charging Information Technology High School (ITHS) with “retaliation” after the tenured English teacher blew the whistle on administrative misconduct, according to The Post. (RELATED: NYC High Schools Accused Of ‘Misleadingly’ Inflating Graduation Rates)

“This retaliation commenced after [Muzafar] reported, both internally and to entities outside the [New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE)], concerns about administrative misconduct, including fraudulent student grading practices, improper student course placements, and violations of educational protocols at her presently assigned school, at Information Technology High School in Queens,” the lawsuit states.

Muzafar had filed complaints with the College Board, which runs higher-level AP classes, and the New York City School District’s Special Commissioner of School Investigation (SCI). ITHS Principal Jean Woods Powell allegedly retaliated by issuing a poor teacher evaluation and denying her the opportunity for additional pay she had previously received.

The incident is indicative of a larger grade-fixing scheme and “ITHS’s pattern and practice of enrolling unqualified students in advanced classes and giving them unearned passing grades,” the lawsuit alleged.

Previous reports of grade-fixing and school corruption by the city’s Department of Education have surfaced over the last decade, The Post reported.

School officials are obligated to inform a teacher if a student’s grade is changed, according to the United Federation of Teachers union contract, The Post notes.

Muzafar decided to fail student “M.H.” in the spring of 2025 after the student had averaged 55.6 percent on formative assessments, 60.5 percent on homework, 56.4 percent on participation, and 83.4 percent on summative assessments. After assistant principal Elicia Rodriguez directed M.H. to complete an online assignment in order to pass the class, Muzafar offered a week-long intensive “boot camp” to give M.H. a final chance to complete coursework.

But M.H. failed the boot camp as well, so Muzafar allegedly entered a failing grade into Jupiter, the online grading system used by the school.

An unknown administrative official changed the student’s AP English Literature grade to a passing one without Muzafar’s knowledge, after accessing the teacher’s gradebook on Jupiter over 40 times, the lawsuit alleged.

Muzafar’s inquiries into the grade change landed her “in trouble,” The Post reported. She received “three threatening disciplinary letters” from administrators and was removed from previously held leadership roles, cutting her ability to earn extra pay.

When Muzufar filed an official complaint alleging ITHS placed underprepared students in AP classes, the school principal sat in on the English teacher’s class and gave her either “developing” or “poor” ratings in the observation report, according to the suit. Muzufar challenged the rating as “retaliatory” in a union complaint.

Muzufar claims that a school social worker with “very close ties” to officials filed a complaint about the tenured teacher. In March of 2026, Muzufar suffered a panic attack after the ITHS principal claimed she was “curving grades,” the lawsuit alleged.

“The relentless retaliation, in the form of multiple disciplinary meetings, disciplinary letters, a poor observation, and loss of per-session assignments, has caused Ms. Muzafar severe emotional distress, including a panic attack on March 11, 2026, which forced her to leave work,” the suit said, adding that Muzafar had to re-enroll in therapy and take prescription drugs.

Muzafar filed the lawsuit in a Brooklyn federal court, alleging a violation of her First Amendment rights and the state civil service law. (RELATED: Climate Change Extremists Leave NYC Stuck With Power Shortage)

The Special Commissioner of School Investigations informed Muzafar it has opened an investigation into her claims, the lawsuit noted.

ITHS did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.