Steven Yanni, former superintendent of the Upper Dublin School District and current superintendent of the Central Bucks School District, has been placed on administrative leave for failing to properly investigate a report that students were abused in an autistic support classroom at Jamison Elementary, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported today.

On Wednesday, a report by Disability Rights PA found that students in the classroom were abused by a teacher and educational assistant. The abuse was first reported by a personal care assistant in November and included the use of illegal physical restraints and creating a “likelihood of sexual abuse and exploitation” of one student, as well as “screaming at students, allowing them to cry for long periods of time, and permitting student nudity and masturbation”, The Inquirer said.

No evidence of abuse was found by the district, but the report found that Yanni and other administrators failed to accurately investigate and disclose the allegations.

The school board hired a law firm to investigate the allegations in January, though the findings have not been announced.

Yanni was named Central Bucks’ superintendent in May after leaving the Lower Merion School District. He was hired by the Upper Dublin School District in 2018, departing in 2023.