After visiting Shrub Oak International School, officials from Connecticut, Washington, and Massachusetts have advised districts of troubling conditions at the school, where a ProPublica investigation uncovered reports of abuse and neglect. These concerns are further exacerbated by the fact that the school operates as an unregulated boarding school, operating outside of many standard oversight mechanisms.
Two more states are now scrutinizing the New York-based boarding school for autistic students and have warned school districts about troubling conditions there. Shrub Oak’s lack of regulation is raising significant alarms.
In Connecticut, education officials conducted a visit to Shrub Oak International School and alerted districts about ongoing “serious safety concerns” at the unregulated for-profit private school. Furthermore, the state’s Department of Developmental Services, which provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism, has decided to cease sending additional students to Shrub Oak, according to an agency spokesperson. The agency described the facility as more “akin to a penal institution than an educational campus,” which highlights the stark contrast between Shrub Oak’s environment and what one might expect from a safe, nurturing educational setting.
Meanwhile, Washington education authorities also visited Shrub Oak this month and issued a warning to school districts to contact the state before considering enrolling students there. The state is currently reviewing its relationship with the school, and officials have conveyed their growing concerns to ProPublica.
This increasing scrutiny of Shrub Oak comes on the heels of a ProPublica investigation published in May, which documented how parents and workers had repeatedly urged New York authorities to investigate their concerns regarding the school, to no avail. These reports and calls for help raise questions about how these situations were allowed to persist for so long.
In Massachusetts, education officials have already begun the process of removing students from Shrub Oak by the end of this month. They realized that Shrub Oak had not sought New York’s approval to operate as a school for students with disabilities, further highlighting the lack of regulatory oversight. Shrub Oak, which opened in 2018, currently serves about 85 students from 13 states. Of these, approximately 20 students come from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Washington combined. Tuition for this school year is a staggering $573,200 for students who require a dedicated aide for most of the day, further raising questions about the cost of a questionable and unregulated education.
Despite the lack of oversight, no New York government agency monitors Shrub Oak because it is neither an approved special-education program nor licensed as a residential facility. As Sarah Eagan, the head of the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate, pointed out, “From a child health and safety perspective, that is crazy. It’s really unsafe — they’re not subject to regular inspections, not subject to licensing standards.”
Eagan’s office has joined an investigation of Shrub Oak, which was initiated last year by Disability Rights Connecticut, a federally funded watchdog that provides legal services and advocacy for people with disabilities. This investigation seeks to understand how the state monitors students placed in out-of-state schools. This effort underscores the increasing awareness of the systemic issues at Shrub Oak.
In one troubling instance, Disability Rights Connecticut discovered that, during a visit to Shrub Oak, a student was forced to sleep on the linoleum floor with no bed, “covered in a blanket that appeared to be similar to a moving pad.” The organization also uncovered a practice known as “hold and close,” in which a student is placed in a padded room, the door is closed, and the staff physically holds it shut. This method of managing student behavior would be illegal in many states, including Connecticut. Such practices only compound concerns about Shrub Oak’s suitability as a facility for vulnerable children.
The group has urged the Connecticut State Education Department to halt the use of public funds to pay for tuition at Shrub Oak and stop placing students there. The department is currently considering the next steps.
In its own investigation, Connecticut’s developmental services agency made an unannounced visit to Shrub Oak in March and found that while individuals were not in “immediate jeopardy,” students were being poorly served. The agency noted that staff primarily focused on managing behavior rather than providing proper education or life skills. Students were eating from takeout containers because Shrub Oak lacks a functioning kitchen, a situation that investigators said “compromises their dignity, nutrition, and overall well-being.”
In Illinois, which has 15 students at Shrub Oak, more than any state other than New York, state education officials contacted school districts to remind them of their responsibility for student safety and well-being. Illinois law requires the state to fund tuition at residential schools like Shrub Oak but grants no authority to investigate schools that have not been approved by the Illinois State Board of Education. As Illinois State Board of Education spokesperson Lindsay Record explained, “ISBE has no authority to stop allowing or approving the placement of students in any non-ISBE approved program including and not limited to Shrub Oak.”
The school district of Chicago plans to enroll one student at Shrub Oak starting July 1, at a cost of $597,990 for one year. While the district is aware of news reports about the problems at Shrub Oak, officials maintain that the student needs the school’s specialized services, and the student’s parent wants the child to attend.
Despite these mounting investigations, officials in New York have declined to comment on the situation. New York has about 30 students enrolled at Shrub Oak this past school year, and much of their tuition is publicly funded. A disability rights group in New York has been investigating Shrub Oak, uncovering similarly troubling conditions.
In at least five incidents involving suspected abuse, Shrub Oak reported to local police that it had fired employees. One former employee is facing charges of menacing, harassment, and endangering the welfare of a disabled person — a student from Chicago. The case is due in court this week, further drawing attention to Shrub Oak’s troubling practices.
Shrub Oak spokesperson Richard Bamberger previously stated that the school contacts police and fires employees involved in incidents. He did not respond to requests for comment for this article, but in previous statements, he has emphasized that the school enrolls students rejected by other schools due to complex needs. These students often struggle with self-injurious behaviors, aggression, and property destruction. Bamberger stressed that security is a top priority, and the property is fenced in to prevent students from leaving without permission.
School districts in approximately a dozen states have sent students to Shrub Oak after determining that local schools could not adequately serve these children. In some cases, parents sued their districts to have their children placed there. Most students’ tuition is covered by public school districts, which are legally obligated to educate all students.
As the investigations continue, parents of children with profound disabilities who require high levels of support are growing increasingly concerned about the limited number of suitable school options. Some fear that ongoing scrutiny of Shrub Oak could lead more states or school districts to cut public funding, leaving them with fewer choices for their children. However, some parents have shared with ProPublica that they feel their children are safe at Shrub Oak and want them to remain there.
Sarah Eagan, the Connecticut child advocate, recognized the difficult situation parents are facing but emphasized that having children in a facility without proper oversight is not a viable solution. “What they need and deserve is a reliable, well-regulated system that ensures their child can access safe and appropriate care in the least restrictive environment. And they’re not getting it.”
Celeste and Roger Brouillard, parents of a former Shrub Oak student, expressed relief that Connecticut is intervening in the situation. Their son, Matthew, attended Shrub Oak for five months before they pulled him out due to concerns that he was harmed there. “As a taxpaying citizen, not just a parent who had a child who was physically and emotionally harmed there, they should cease funding immediately,” Celeste Brouillard said.
Matthew, who was 17 at the time, transferred to Shrub Oak after promises were made about receiving help with daily living and vocational skills. Instead, his time there was “five months of hell,” Celeste recalled. Matthew lost 16 pounds, was left alone in his room for long periods, and suffered multiple black eyes that the staff could not explain. Doctors at the Connecticut Children’s emergency department documented bruising on Matthew’s body and attempted to report their concerns to four New York agencies in December 2022.
Katie Krasula, an official at Matthew’s school district, filed an abuse and neglect report in New York in February 2023 after receiving concerning photos and other information. She expressed concerns about Matthew’s safety and the school’s ability to provide appropriate care.
The Simsbury Public Schools district, which had contracted to pay over $530,000 for nearly a year of tuition and an aide for 16 hours a day, ultimately transferred Matthew to another residential school.
Shrub Oak has declined to comment on individual student experiences but posted a statement online after ProPublica’s investigation, downplaying the findings and assuring parents that their children are safe and well cared for. The school also criticized investigations by Disability Rights Connecticut and Disability Rights New York, accusing the organizations of misrepresenting Shrub Oak’s services and environment. Despite the school’s defense, these ongoing investigations are shedding light on troubling practices that continue to raise concerns for the children and families affected.
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