Janait Shah, the Catskill High School principal suspended earlier this year over an incident in which a student had duct tape on their mouth during a play rehearsal, has been placed on leave again. 

Superintendent Dan Wilson said in a statement posted to the district’s website that an employee has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into whether he is qualified to hold the job.

Wilson did not name Shah, but the superintendent said John Rivers will be “acting principal” of the high school. The district will be posting for an interim principal position as the district does not know the amount of time it will take for the person to become qualified.

Wilson said the district recently became aware of this situation. Multiple agencies reviewed the facts of this case as well as the district’s legal counsel, according to the superintendent. He said the district had “no choice” but to take this action in order to be compliance with state education law.

“The district has an obligation to ensure we employ qualified individuals. We are hopeful that the employee will be considered qualified soon and return from leave,” Wilson said.

Shah was one of two employees suspended in March for the incident in which Michele Storrs-Ryan jokingly told a student to tape their mouth shut because students were talking during a rehearsal. The student who spoke out said she did not take the teachers’ comments seriously and were not offended by them.

The suspensions prompted a huge turnout of supporters at school board meetings, demanding that they get their jobs back. They eventually were allowed to come back to work.

Storrs-Ryan was reprimanded, fined $1,000 and required to participate in five hours of district-provided training, according to a settlement agreement obtained by NewsChannel 13 through a Freedom of Information Law request. The training included information on student discipline, appropriate student-teacher interactions, and sensitivity training.