The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) and Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) have filed a federal complaint against the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) alleging the department has failed to monitor and properly regulate High Road schools in Connecticut, a privately-run school system educating high needs, special education children from multiple school districts.

The OCA and DRCT issued an investigative report about High Road schools in March of 2024, and found a litany of problems, saying the children in the schools were being “grossly underserved.” Among the major issues were a lack of certification and background checks for school personnel, “widespread” absenteeism, the school’s extensive reliance on restraints and seclusion of special needs children, and a general lack of oversight by local districts and the SDE.

In July of 2024, the OCA and DRCT filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice alleging disability discrimination by four school districts that send children to High Road schools, including Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and Stratford. That complaint and investigation were challenged by both High Roads and the SDE, which questioned the accuracy of the OCA/DRCT report and accused them of not working in a “collaborative manner,” according to CT Mirror. 

Now, the SDE faces its own complaint over its alleged lack of oversight of the special needs schools.

According to the newest complaint submitted to the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) on September 18, the OCA and DRCT allege the state’s education department did not adequately follow up on deficiencies and concerns within the High Roads school system, did not follow up on High Roads’ “failure to comply with state standards,” and “did not properly monitor and ensure compliance with [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] and relevant state special education law.”

“Based on the findings of our systemic investigation and CSDE’s continued noncompliance with IDEA oversight and monitoring, OCA and DRCT request that OSEP conduct its own investigation (outside its regular cycle review) of the systemic issues raised in our investigation and issue an appropriate corrective action plan,” the OCA and DRCT wrote in their complaint.

Although the SDE says that it conducted its own “vigorous and targeted” evaluation of High Road schools, the latest complaint indicates that CSDE “was unable to produce a number of relevant records to support its statement of findings, including interview or record review notes, or any other underlying documents related to its conclusions.”

“In addition, despite CSDE having confirmed High Road Schools’ use of non-credentialed/non-approved staff during the course of the OCA/DRCT investigation, CSDE produced no documentation that it conducted a prompt audit of these staffing irregularities,” OCA/DRCT wrote in their press release.

Reached for comment, CSDE spokesman Matthew Cerrone said “there is neither a legal nor factual basis for OSEP compliant that DRCT/OCA has filed against CSDE,” and said they had followed up on the “serious concerns” raised by the initial investigation.

“Despite the CSDE’s concerns regarding the DRCT/OCA report, we engaged in follow-up supervisory and monitoring activities and conducted a targeted, onsite off-cycle standards review of High Road Schools,” Cerrone wrote in an email. “These reviews further called into question the reliability and accuracy of DRCT/OCA’s claims regarding, among other things, staffing credentials and hiring practices within the High Road Schools.”

The CSDE also indicated that documentation they requested from OCA was never provided, “despite multiple requests for this necessary information, which would have allowed us to conduct an expansive investigation of the claims contained in DRCT/OCA’s report, OCA chose not to provide it.”

According to the OCA/DRCT investigation, the High Road schools investigated by the watchdog groups serve roughly 316 high-needs students from 38 different school districts in the state, most of whom – 70 percent — are children of color. High Road schools are run by Special Education Services, Inc. (SESI), and although they are private schools, they are still paid for with public dollars provided by school districts that place children there. As such, the OCA/DRCT argues, they should be “held to similar standards as public programs.” 

“High Road Schools is a private equity owned, state-approved, and publicly funded private special education program that receives millions of dollars of public funds from Connecticut school districts each year,” the OCA/DRCT wrote in their press release, adding that most of the students are “low-income children from Black and Brown communities,” and receive “substandard and unequal education often from unqualified staff, and regularly subject to seclusion an restraint.”

“Connecticut remains committed to supporting students with disabilities, as evidenced by being one of 21 states to earn the highest federal rating for special education compliance,” Cerrone wrote. “In addition, the CSDE is appreciative of the support and guidance provided by the Office of Special Education Programs and welcomes their review of our General Supervision System as we work collaboratively with our families and educators to achieve positive outcomes for students with disabilities including students who attend private special education programs.”

According OCA/DRCT’s press release, Connecticut “leads all states in the placement of children with disabilities in separate schools,” and also second in the country for students with emotional disabilities educated in separate schools.

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