This School for Autistic Youth Can Cost $573,200 a Year. It Operates With Little Oversight.

Рет қаралды 1,003

Ай бұрын

No state agency has authority over Shrub Oak International School, one of the country’s most expensive therapeutic boarding schools at about $573,200 a year. The for-profit school in New York for autistic youth opened in 2018 with grand promises: beautiful dorms, an indoor therapy pool, an equestrian stable, a restaurant-quality kitchen, sophisticated security, round-the-clock care and cutting-edge education for students with autism from around the world.
Some of those promises never materialized. There’s still no kitchen.
A ProPublica investigation - based on records from school districts, court documents and interviews with nearly 30 families and just as many workers - found accusations of possible abuse and neglect: bruises on students’ bodies, medication mix-ups, urine-soaked mattresses and deficient staffing. Many parents and workers, armed with confidential documents and photos of student injuries, described their futile efforts to get authorities to intervene.
Read our full investigation here: propub.li/3UNYHaa
In part 2 of our investigation, we headed to Illinois to understand how school districts in the state became the largest out-of-state feeder for Shrub Oak. Read the full story: propub.li/3UKd5iu
📰: Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen
📸: Liz Moughon
🎥: Jose Sepulveda
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ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force.
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Пікірлер: 6

@budrollin Ай бұрын

Thank you, Pro Publica!

@warriorwaitress7690 Ай бұрын

Wait, the description says that the school still doesn't have a kitchen? What??! I want to read the full reporting, but as the parent of a 21 year-old autistic son I'm already infuriated, so I'll have to brace myself first. I think the most shocking revelation is that an institution responsible for caring for some of the most vulnerable among us is doing so with absolutely NO government oversight. Disgraceful.

@kimberleebrackley2793 Ай бұрын

No,this is not a school. Abuse is inevitable when there is no law to protect these vulnerable people.

@21truthbetold 3 күн бұрын

Yup! Parents don’t understand that local school regents have NO jurisdiction over private schools. I know a woman who turned her garage into a school and called it a small private school home school. The state (at least CT) cannot tell you what to do in your home school or your private school.

@jimsliverootsculturemusic Ай бұрын

You could say "autistic students" rather than "students with disabilities", focusing on neurodivergence, not "handicaps". 🙂 I'm learning these things from having an autistic grandchild. It is a more accurate description and avoids the presumption that they are somehow retarded or damaged. They're not, only their brain function is different. Many have been thought to be retarded (I guess that's no longer an acceptable word) when in fact they are quite intelligent and have much to say, e.g., a non-verbal child using an AAC device to create words and sentences. Some go on to write books.