The Pennsylvania Department of Education's Bureau of Special Education has opened an investigation at Central Bucks School District, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
State officials during the week of Jan. 19 went to Jamison Elementary School, where a teacher and an aide had been accused of mistreating four nonverbal children by multiple witnesses who were interviewed by this news organization.
The original complaint filed with the district in November was made by one staffer. No charges were ultimately filed by school officials, police or the county district attorney's office.
The teacher, in a statement through a public relations professional, has denied any wrongdoing.
More:Central Bucks parent, board member calls for resignations amid classroom allegations
The state education department did not return a request for comment on its investigation at the school, which includes students in kindergarten up through sixth grade.
The agency's questions to school staff focused on the alleged use of physical restraints, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity for fear of professional retaliation.
Improper use of restraints was among the allegations included in a written staffer complaint obtained by this news organization last month.
The use of physical restraints in PA classrooms
Physical restraints are to be used in special education as a last resort to prevent injury, according to Central Bucks policy and state law.
The written staffer complaint alleged that the teacher and aide repeatedly restrained one student — the son of Jim Pepper, who is also a school board member — without an indication the student was at risk of harming himself or others.
In some cases, the student — who frequently undressed in class because of his autism and behaviors attributed to it — was restrained while naked in order to finish his work, the complaint alleged.
The complaint described a form of restraint in which the student's chair was pushed close to the table, which was allegedly held down with the accused aide's bodyweight so that the student couldn't easily move into a different position.
At other times, the student was held down on a bench for the duration of a time out, according to the complaint.
State investigators told multiple people they were visiting Central Bucks in light of reporting by this news organization, which published its investigative report Jan. 16 after Pepper called for the resignations of the superintendent and others for what he called a "coverup" of the incidents and subsequent investigation.
Central Bucks School Board President Susan Gibson announced after the meeting that she and her fellow officials planned to authorize an external review of the investigation.
When any type of physical restraint is used in the special education program, staff are required to document the incident and hold a meeting with staff and parents to follow up on the restraint incident, according to district policies and Superintendent Steve Yanni. Documentation is also sent to a state reporting agency.
But a Department of Education investigator told multiple people this week that no use of restraints had been reported in the accused teacher's classroom, interviewees said.
Multiple witnesses have told this news organization that restraints were used in the classroom on a regular basis.
More:Central Bucks to audit investigation of alleged teacher misconduct at Jamison Elementary
Pepper said that he and his wife were never notified that any physical restraint had been used with their son, and that exceptional provisions for physical restraint were not part of their son's individualized education plan.
Privacy restrictions have prevented this news organization from identifying and contacting most of the classroom parents.
'We've lost trust': Central Bucks parent
But the father of one student who spent last school year in the accused teacher's classroom said he wasn't told of any concerns with the teacher before his son was moved back into the classroom earlier this month.
The parent, Aaron McGarvey, said he first learned of concerns at the school from this news organization's reporting.
Though his son is not mentioned in the complaint, which focuses on events from this fall before his son was moved back to the class, McGarvey said that at minimum, he's concerned his son's education may have been disrupted in the classroom.
"No way it could’ve been a supportive learning environment," McGarvey said. "We've lost trust."
What is the PA Bureau of Special Education?
Bureau of Special Education employees also evaluate school districts on a rotating basis to ensure compliance. Central Bucks, however, doesn't appear on the bureau's regular monitoring schedule for this year.
The Bureau of Special Education is authorized to investigate concerns and, if founded, require school districts to address those concerns. For example, a 2020 bureau report found that Philadelphia public schools hadn't provided disability evaluations to some students in a timely manner, which violated their education rights.
The state required the School District of Philadelphia to make several changes, including training staff, updating policies and providing extra educational funding for some of the affected students.
Child abuse and education lawyers have told this news organization that if the allegations are accurate, the district could face civil litigation at both state and federal levels.
Jess Rohan can be reached at [email protected].