The Central Bucks school board has hired a law firm to investigate special education abuse allegations

The Central Bucks school board approved the hiring of a law firm Thursday to investigate allegations of abuse of special education students at Jamison Elementary School.

At a special meeting, the board voted to hire Stock & Leader, a law firm in Central Pennsylvania, at a rate of up to $275 an hour to perform investigatory services. Board president Susan Gibson described firm attorney Leigh Dalton as “uniquely qualified” to lead the investigation, noting her background in school law, as well as experience as the chief of special education monitoring and accountability for the Maryland State Department of Education.

Central Bucks has been under fire for its handling of accusations first made by a whistleblower in November that became public during a school board meeting last month. The whistleblower’s complaint alleged that children in a special education classroom at Jamison were “improperly restrained, physically punished, left undressed for extended periods, and prevented from drinking water and communicating using speech devices,” according to the Bucks County Courier Times, which obtained a copy of the complaint.

After Superintendent Steven Yanni filed a report with ChildLine, the state hotline for child protective services, the Warwick Township Police investigated. The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office declined to bring charges. District officials, meanwhile, say they investigated and didn’t find that any abuse occurred.

But at a Jan. 16 school board meeting, community members and school board member Jim Pepper — whose son was among the students allegedly mistreated — accused the district of a cover-up. They said Yanni had omitted some of the whistleblower’s allegations in his ChildLine report, and also said that witnesses had confirmed the account.

Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Bureau of Special Education visited the district in the wake of the allegations. Pepper has called for the resignations of Yanni and other district administrators, saying they lied to him and wrongly downplayed the children’s mistreatment as a matter of “instructional concerns,” rather than abuse.

On Thursday night, community members who addressed the board during public comment posed dozens of questions about the district’s handling of the allegations.

“What are the legal consequences” of filing a ChildLine report “that fails to contain all the allegations of abuse that exist?” said Christy Callaghan, who also asked whether district administrators had discussed the ChildLine report before it was filed, and whether they knew that “serious mental injury” can constitute child abuse.

“Do they believe nonverbal children with autism are incapable of suffering mental injury?” she asked.

Others questioned whether the district had reported use of restraints in the special education classroom to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, as required by law, and whether other reports by Yanni to ChildLine regarding matters in Central Bucks or previous districts he’s led — he was previously superintendent in Lower Merion — should be investigated.

Daniel Grabianowski asked why children were sent back into the classroom following the whistleblower’s complaint. He also questioned whether children were “subject to indirect retaliation” because of Pepper’s position as “the lone Republican” on the school board.

Board members did not answer questions Thursday. “Most of the questions asked tonight, we intend and hope [Dalton] will answer as part of her investigation,” said Gibson.

Dalton expects the investigation will take two to three months, Gibson said; the board didn’t want to give her a deadline for completing the work. While some of her findings may be “privileged,” Gibson said, the board intends for a summary of the findings to be made public, “if not the entire report.”

In a letter to the board, Dalton said her services “will include, but are not limited to, an examination of the circumstances surrounding the allegations” at Jamison. Pepper, who recused himself from the vote Thursday, asked Gibson whether the investigation would also include “issues related to the reporting of the allegations out.”

“That is definitely the intent,” Gibson said.