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Former BPS admin files whistleblower suit against BPS, alleging retaliation
Aketa Narang Kapur said she spoke up when more than 200 English learners were transferred to general education classes inappropriately and without parental notification.
A former educator with Boston Public Schools filed a whistleblower suit against the district, claiming she lost her job due to discrimination and retaliation after she raised concerns over advancing hundreds of unprepared students learning English to a regular classroom.
Aketa Narang Kapur, who identifies as a South Asian woman, spent 15 years with BPS starting in 2006 when she was hired to teach English to non-native speaking students, also known as English as a Second Language services, or ESL.
In November of 2021, she was promoted to assistant superintendent of the Office of English Learners, or the OELL. Administrators above her, including Deputy Superintendent of Academics Drew Echelson who is named as a defendant in her complaint, asked her to submit an application, according to the suit.
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But before she officially began her duties, she learned that more than 200 ELL students were “dumped” into general education classes before they were ready, the suit alleges. Students were not individually evaluated despite recommended protocol, and they were transferred illegally by not notifying parents, Kapur claims.
Thirty-two percent, or about 17,000 BPS students, qualify as English learners — students who aren’t proficient enough in academic English to join general education classrooms.
The complaint echoes concerns that BPS only partially implements English Learner Education programs in accordance with state laws.
In 2010, the Department of Justice began monitoring BPS after an investigation found they weren’t properly identifying English learners. More than ten years later, similar problems exist.
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A 2023 report from the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said BPS falls short in categories including initial identification of learners, parental involvement and notification, and teacher licenses.
And last fall, a BPS task force of appointed members to advise the district on ELL programs resigned to protest a new plan to integrate more English learners into general education classrooms, The Boston Globe reported.
Complaint: Kapur was retaliated against for raising concerns
Kapur spoke up about the sweeping promotion of students to both her supervisor and Echelson, who both dismissed her concerns, the suit alleges. The DOJ eventually got involved, the complaint says, and reprimanded BPS.
The complaint says Echelson then began bullying Kapur by belittling her in meetings and ridiculing her slight accent — which a colleague noticed and commented on.
She was going to meet with the DOJ in December 2021 to discuss the inappropriately promoted students, the complaint said. However, two days before the meeting, she was put on administrative leave, a move the complaint says was instigated by Echelson.
The complaint calls this retaliatory and said BPS put her on leave due to conflict of interest concerns related to a private tutoring company she had divested from in 2019 and irregularities in laptop donations for OELL staff. The laptops, which were going to be donated from Kapur’s former company, were never actually donated.
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Three months later, BPS’s investigation into “her alleged violation of policies” resulted in the end of her employment around April 2022. The Boston Globe reported on Kapur’s short tenure as assistant superintendent of the OELL — a position which had previously lost four other directors in two years.
“BPS manufactured various policy violations related to procurement policies and conflict of interest, ignoring Kapur’s years of service and spotless personnel record,” the complaint said. “BPS abruptly placed her on administrative leave, engaged in a sham investigation, and ultimately forced her out of BPS.”
Kapur is suing for reinstatement to her former position and damages, the suit said.
Boston Public Schools did not return a request for comment.
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