A Philadelphia-based law firm announced Tuesday that it filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Central Bucks School District and other defendants over allegations that staff abused a student with autism in 2024. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a 10-year-old child with nonverbal autism, claims the boy was illegally restrained 2,933 times between Sept. 3 and Dec. 20, 2024, while attending an autistic support classroom at Jamison Elementary School. In addition, the complaint accuses school employees of restricting the boy’s access to water and the bathroom, removing his communication device and “repeatedly humiliating him because of behaviors connected to his disability.” “This case involves an extraordinary betrayal of a child who depended entirely on the adults around him for his safety, education, and care,” said attorney M. Stewart Ryan, partner at Laffey Bucci D’Andrea Reich Ryan. “Not only did our client endure relentless and degrading treatment, but district officials were repeatedly given opportunities to protect him and failed to do so.” According to the lawyers, the complaint also alleges that Central Bucks School District officials were aware of reports of misconduct but allowed the employees accused of mistreating the child to remain in the classroom. Moreover, the lawsuit accuses the district of delaying reporting the allegations to ChildLine, providing incomplete or misleading information to authorities and “falsely” telling the child’s parents that an internal investigation found no evidence of abuse. According to the complaint, the child has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. In a joint statement, the boy’s family said: “It is devastating to learn that our son was treated this way by the very people we trusted to care for and protect him. Because he is nonverbal, he could not come home and tell us that he was being viciously abused and traumatized on a daily basis. We are also furious with the many people who covered up his abuse. We are speaking out for our son and for every vulnerable and defenseless child who depends on teachers and school administrators to protect their dignity and keep them safe. Our son and entire family have been changed forever. This can never happen again to another child.” In April 2025, Disability Rights Pennsylvania (DRP) released a report after an investigation into allegations of abuse of children in an autistic support classroom at Jamison Elementary School. The investigation found the allegations were credible and corroborated by several staff who worked in the classroom. “The students – kindergarteners through second graders -experienced abuse, neglect, illegal restraints, aversive techniques, and disability discrimination by the teacher and educational assistant in the classroom,” the DRP said in a release. In the report, the DRP recommended a series of actions to address the issues, including staff and administrator discipline, training, policy development and additional safeguards for the safety and rights of students with disabilities. In October 2025, NBC10 Investigators reported on concerns over an increase in restraints for students with disabilities across the state, including at Jamison Elementary School in the Central Bucks School District. The state Department of Education found that the district restrained a child — along with the son of a school board member — by using desks to wedge them in their chairs against a wall. In total, the Central Bucks School District reported more than 6,400 restraints for the 2024-25 school year. That’s nearly a quarter of the total number of restraints reported statewide in 2024. NBC10 reached out to the Central Bucks School District for comment on the lawsuit and responded with the following statement: “Central Bucks School District has acknowledged what occurred in Classroom 119 at Jamison Elementary School during the fall of 2024. The district took the actions within its power to discipline both those employees who committed these offenses, and those employees who failed to report them. The district terminated the superintendent who was in charge of the district at the time, as well as the then-principal of Jamison, and the district’s then-director of special education. The district also approved charges against the teacher and educational assistant, and fully litigated those terminations through the arbitration process, which is ongoing. The district implemented significant changes at Jamison Elementary School to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. The Disability Rights Project returned to Jamison last year, reviewed these changes, and closed their investigation. The district understands that none of these actions can change what happened to the students in Classroom 119 at Jamison. Before the filing of the lawsuit, the district communicated to the attorneys for this family that the district was open to a resolution of their claims. The filing of the lawsuit does not change that position.” ...read more read less