Joint Investigative Report Reveals That Connecticut Students Enrolled in Out-of-State Special Education Schools Lack Meaningful Oversight and Monitoring, Putting Students At Risk; 72 School Districts Sent Students to Schools in 15 States, With Insufficient Oversight and Monitoring, Often Leading to Excessive Injuries and Rights Violations at a High Cost to Districts
After Multi Year Investigation, A Call for Comprehensive Legislative Action to Protect Students, Increase Oversight, Protect Rights, Prioritize Education and Safety
Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) and the Office of the Child Advocate (OCA), after a comprehensive multi-year joint investigation into the widespread out-of-state placement of Connecticut students with disabilities, revealed an alarming array of rights violations, injuries, and practices inconsistent with Connecticut law, in a report issued today that calls on the state legislature to take a series of immediate corrective actions.
The investigation revealed:
Insufficient oversight and monitoring of students and schools,
including students enrolled in many schools that were not
approved and/or licensed by the state in which they operate;
Connecticut school districts are relying on costly out-of-state
placements; to the detriment of students, compromising their
education needs and safety.
The investigation of certain schools found:
Use of restraint and seclusion rooms that do not follow
Connecticut law;
An elevated number of excessive, unexplained student injuries.
The extensive 60-page investigative report and a series of 14 detailed recommendations urges “immediate corrective action” to “address the identified deficiencies and ensure compliance with federal and state regulations, and protect these students.”
front cover of report
Systemic Failures Caused Sexual Abuse of Females at York Correctional Institution; Investigative Report by Disability Rights Connecticut Reveals Continued Abuse, Multiple Violations of Federal and State Law and Department of Correction Policy
Detailed 4-Year Investigation Calls for Immediate Legislative and Department to Prevent Sexual Abuse, End Violations of Policy and Law
December 16, 2025
Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) is calling on the Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) and the state legislature to take immediate action after a comprehensive, detailed, and alarming 4-year investigation conducted by DRCT into sexual abuse of women incarcerated at York Correctional Institution (YCI), the state’s facility for female prisoners, located in Niantic.
The extensive 26-page investigative report, released today, determined that “the DOC engages in systemic practices which violate the Constitutional rights of women with serious mental illness incarcerated at the York Correctional Institution, and the DOC … has failed to address these issues,” concluding that “YCI’s systemic failures have, and continue to, foster unsafe conditions.”
“Without correction by and oversight of the DOC,” the DRCT investigative report concluded, “these systemic issues will likely continue, resulting in more individuals being sexually abused.”
Front Page of report
Inmate Death Investigation Reveals Violations of Federal, State Law, Failure to Provide Adequate Medical Care and Lifesaving Measures
April 8, 2025
Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT), following a comprehensive, detailed and alarming 31-month investigation, is calling on the state legislature and the Department of Correction (DOC) to act immediately, because “if the systemic issues that DRCT identified are not addressed, more people could die in custody.”
The investigation began in the wake of the death of an individual in the custody of Bridgeport Correctional Center, less than 24 hours after arriving at the facility.
DRCT, in an extensive 25-page report which includes a series of recommendations, concluded that multiple corrective actions are imperative, noting that the investigation “substantiated multiple systemic violations of federal and state law, and DOC policy,” and “significant deficiencies in the DOC’s policies, practices, and staff accountability with respect to medical care, staff training, disciplinary processes, and operational procedures.”
Investigation into Practices at Connecticut Mental Health Center Reveals Multiple System Failings Including Unsafe Conditions, Inadequate Treatment, Violation of Rights, Lack of Sufficient Oversight; Immediate Corrective Actions Sought
May 22, 2024
Following a nearly three-year investigation into conditions and practices at Connecticut Mental Health Center (CMHC), an inpatient psychiatric facility operated by the State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) has identified and substantiated multiple systemic violations of the rights of individuals with serious mental illness who were admitted for treatment.
In a report issued today, DRCT calls for “urgent and immediate corrective action to prevent further irreparable harm,” delineating findings that indicate “patients reside in an unsafe environment where they are victims of sexual abuse and harassment by other patients, live with rodent infestation in their unit, are restrained excessively, and do not receive adequate active treatment to transition to discharge.”
Investigation at High Road Schools Reveals Serious Shortcomings
March 12, 2024
The Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) and Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) today released the results of a multi-year investigation into the actions, practices, and oversight by the State Department of Education and High Road Schools, a group of eight state-approved and publicly funded private special education programs.
The Investigative Findings and Recommendations by OCA and DRCT call for a sweeping series of changes to current practices, citing “urgent system concerns,” and recommending “increased local and state oversight and accountability for ensuring children with disabilities receive the appropriate eduation they are entitled to under state and federal law.”
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT ISSUED
November 26, 2019
Upon completion of a lengthy investigation, Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) substantiated abuse, neglect and violations of patients’ rights at Whiting Forensic Hospital (WFH) and Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH).
When revelations of egregious conditions first surfaced in media reports in the Spring of 2017 state entities responded, addressing some of the initial concerns. The subsequent DRCT investigation initially centered on the circumstances in regards to two patients - William Shehadi and Andrew Vermiglio. However, based upon a broader examination, DRCT’s findings illustrate many concerns still exist.
The extensive Investigative Report includes a series of findings and recommendations and a call to action for the Connecticut General Assembly to place CVH under the licensure of the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) to enact immediate reforms in the areas of concern identified in this report.
Report Download Links:
