Central Bucks school official suspended: Report says district hid abuse from police

☑️ The district said it found no evidence of abuse in the classroom

☑️ An outside group said the district hid the results of its investigation

☑️ The district superintendent was put on administrative leave

WARWICK, Pa. — The superintendent of the Central Bucks School District has been put on indefinite leave after an independent report found that administrators misled police and parents about the abuse of nonverbal students with autism.

The Bucks County Courier Times was the first to report in January on an internal investigation by the district into complaints that children at the Jamison Elementary School were restrained, physically punished and kept from drinking water. The district's investigation concluded there was no evidence of child abuse or violation of district policies, Superintendent Steven Yanni told the Times at the time.

Warwick police also conducted an investigation and did not file any criminal charges. An independent investigation by Disability Rights Pennsylvania came to a different conclusion.

'Incomplete and misleading' information

A 75-page report issued after interviews with district staff and administrators and a review of records concluded the allegations were credible.

"The students in classroom experienced abuse, neglect, illegal restraints,
use of aversive techniques, and disability discrimination, as defined under
applicable state and federal laws," the report says.

According to the report:

• District staff failed to comply with the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services law, which requires immediate reporting of suspected child abuse to ChildLine.  Instead, they waited "days and then weeks"
• Information reported was "incomplete and misleading."
• The district investigation corroborated the abuse but told parents and police there was no evidence of abuse
• A "culture of distrust and fear of retaliation" exists at the school and among district administrators about the incident

At Thursday's meeting, the audience applauded when school board President Susan Gibbons said Yanni had been placed on administrative leave. She said board attorney Leigh Dalton would issue a report by the end of May.