A Brooklyn principal cut special-education services from her high school and improperly forced teachers to alter the records of kids with special needs — allegedly to save cash, Department of Education documents show.
Two staffers interviewed by DOE investigators said the reckless moves by former Brooklyn School of Global Finance Principal Kavita Gupta — which included putting emotionally disturbed students into classrooms with general-education kids — were motivated by moolah.
One staffer claimed Gupta said mixing all the students together, regardless of their needs, was necessary because the school lacked resources to provide extra services for kids — even though they were legally entitled to them.
Another staffer affiliated with the school told a teacher outright that “the change was made to make us money,” the Office of Special Investigations found.
Gupta, who has been an educator since 2003 but who lacks certification in special education, told probers her decision was motivated solely by the best practice — even though teachers complained that her changes were causing academic and behavioral problems.
She did not respond to multiple e-mails seeking comment.
But she told investigators that when she was hired to lead the second-year Bed-Stuy school over the summer of 2010, she reviewed all the records of special- needs kids and determined that “the students would be best served in a [mixed] setting.”
The mixed classes, which have two teachers, are known as ICT — short for Integrated Co-Teaching classrooms.
Gupta also cited a systemwide reform by the DOE that encouraged taking special-needs kids out of smaller, segregated settings — which can be overly restrictive — if kids could handle less restrictive settings.
Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance was not among 200 schools to pioneer the reforms starting in 2010, according to DOE officials.
But one of the fears at the time was that principals would make special- education service decisions based on financial rather than academic considerations, because the funding formula rewards less restrictive settings.
In response to the findings, DOE officials fined Gupta $10,000 and demoted her to assistant principal.
She transferred this fall to Performing Arts and Technology HS in East New York, where she is making $101,000 as a junior administrator.
Gupta OSI Rept-Version for Release
Additional reporting by Ikimulisa Livingston