2 More Central Bucks Administrators Placed On Paid Leave

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Two more Central Bucks School District administrators have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation into allegations of child abuse in a Jamison Elementary School special education classroom last fall and the reporting of those allegations by district administrators.

District leadership on Wednesday announced that Director of Human Resources Robert Freiling and Human Resources Manager Christine Trawinski have been placed on paid administrative leave effective April 30, pending the results of the investigation.

The district will be retaining an external human resources consultant to assist the district until the board can take make further decisions.

"We wish to again assure you that district operations and the delivery of instruction to students will continue uninterrupted," wrote board leadership and substitute superintendent Dr. Charles Malone in a communication to the community. "We are committed to navigating this difficult period in our district with unwavering focus on maintaining the educational experience for students, underpinned by our ultimate priority: the safety of our students."

The announcement comes a week after the school board placed Superintendent Dr. Steven Yanni on paid administrative leave, also pending the outcome of the school board investigation.

The independent investigation is being conducted by Leigh Dalton, an attorney with the law firm of Stock and Leader. She was appointed by the school board in February to take an independent look into the allegations of child abuse at Jamison and how the allegations were reported out by the administration.

Disability Rights Pennsylvania Investigation

The announcements come on the heels of a 75-page report released by Disability Rights Pennsylvania into alleged abuse of special education students in a Jamison Elementary School special education classroom last fall.

Following an investigation, the disability rights group found that students in the Jamison autistic support classroom were subjected to abuse, neglect, illegal restraints, and aversive treatment.

Disability Rights Pennsylvania also found that mandated reporters at Jamison Elementary and in the district failed to file a ChildLine report and that the ChildLine reports filed by Superintendent Dr. Steven Yanni on behalf of the district were "delayed, incomplete, and misleading."

DRP began investigating after allegations of abuse were raised by a personal care assistant (PCA) in the Jamison classroom last fall, involving a teacher, an educational assistant, and two students in the four-student autistic support classroom.

"After interviews with relevant Jamison staff and district administrators and a review of records, DRP concludes that the allegations of abuse made by a PCA in the classroom are credible and corroborated by several staff who worked in the classroom. The students in the classroom experienced abuse, neglect, illegal restraints, use of aversive techniques, and disability discrimination, as defined under
applicable state and federal laws."

Compounding the abuse, the DRP report says district staff "failed to comply with the Pennsylvania Child Protective Services Law, which requires immediate reporting of suspected child abuse to ChildLine. Instead, district administrators filed ChildLine reports days and then weeks after receipt of information of suspected child abuse, and the information reported in both instances was incomplete and misleading."

While there were flaws in the district’s internal fact-finding investigation, the DRP report says the district’s own investigation "still revealed significant corroboration of the abuse in the classroom," the report says. "Despite that corroboration, the district erroneously informed parents of students in the classroom and the local police conducting the ChildLine investigation that the district’s investigation found no evidence of abuse.

"A culture of distrust and fear of retaliation pervades at Jamison and among district administrators regarding the classroom, which undoubtedly contributed to the lack of appropriate reporting and
response by the district," the report says.

The DRP is recommending a series of actions be taken by the school board to address the issues, including staff and administrators discipline, training, policy development, and additional safeguards for the safety and rights of students with disabilities.

Commissioner Files ChildLine Report

In a separate development, Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a licensed social worker and legally mandated reporter, announced in a statement posted on the county's website that she had reported the case to ChildLine over the weekend "in hopes that Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services would be assigned to investigate."

When the allegations of abuse at Jamison Elementary School originally came through ChildLine, it was designated as “law enforcement only,” meaning the Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services Agency was not assigned to investigate. The case was referred to the Warwick Police
Department and the Bucks County District Attorney, who investigated and determined it did not rise to criminality.

After reading the report issued by Disability Rights Pennsylvania detailing potential serious child abuse allegations, Commissioner Ellis-Marseglia said she believed the case should have been referred back to Children & Youth once the law enforcement investigation was completed.