for immediate RELEASE
February 10, 2026
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.”
The investigation outlined “overuse and misuse of restrictive practices, with no established mechanism for the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) and the sending school district or local education agency to perform meaningful oversight and monitoring.”
The investigation, which included three academic years (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24), began in September 2023 and continued through January 2025. More than 200 Connecticut students with disabilities from 72 Connecticut school districts were placed in out-of-state schools across 15 states during the period reviewed in the investigation.
The investigative report concludes that “This lack of oversight and monitoring by the state of Connecticut and/or the state in which the out-of-state school is located leaves a serious gap in ensuring the safety and welfare of Connecticut’s most vulnerable students who are placed at these segregated schools – often hundreds of miles away from the student’s family and important community support systems.”
“Despite the safeguards in Connecticut aimed at preventing the overuse and misuse of restraint and seclusion in schools, these laws do not apply to out-of-state schools, leaving vulnerable Connecticut children placed at these segregated schools with no safeguards against these harmful practices,” the report explains.
The investigation found that “a concerning number of injuries among students in the segregated out-of-state placements reviewed could not be conclusively explained. These injuries raise serious concerns about student safety and the adequacy of the services provided at these schools,” and also noted that “the distance between their loved ones and trusted adults, often create conditions that give rise to an increased risk of abuse and neglect.”
The joint DRCT-OCA report details that “instead of investing state and local funds in educational services within the state and districts, districts are sending large sums of money out of state to restrictive, segregated placements,” adding “students need varying levels of resources, and they should be spent in the state and in district where the students and their programs have oversight.”
The joint investigative report calls on Connecticut officials to “eliminate the abuse and neglect of students at these schools,” concluding that “Connecticut can, and should, do better” to ensure that all students with disabilities receive the special education services they need consistent with state and federal law. The investigation highlighted “a significant gap in accountability” and “lifts the curtain on these restrictive segregated out-of-state programs.”
The recommendations for revisions to state law are being advocated by the Office of the Child Advocate, consistant with its mandate, and is accompanied by DRCT indicating that such changes “would be beneficial to students with disabilities.” The recommendations “offer viable solutions to improve service delivery to students with disabilities, increase accountability, and reduce the overutilization of costly and restrictive out-of-state placements,” the report states.
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About Disability Rights Connecticut
Disability Rights Connecticut’s mission is to advocate, educate, investigate, and pursue legal, administrative, and other appropriate remedies to advance and protect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities to participate equally and fully in all facets of community life in Connecticut. Disability Rights Connecticut provides legal advocacy and rights protection to people of all ages with disabilities. DRCT focuses its legal and other advocacy on a wide range of disability justice issues for Connecticut residents with disabilities. DRCT’s services include advocating the rights of individuals with disabilities on issues including abuse, neglect, discrimination, community integration, forensic mental health, voting, and other rights protection issues. DRCT is Connecticut’s federally mandated “Protection and Advocacy System.”
About the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate
The Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) monitors and evaluates public and private agencies that are charged with the protection of children, and reviews state agency policies and procedures to ensure they protect children's rights and promote their best interest. OCA helps to advocate for children at risk; address public policy issues concerning juvenile justice, child care, foster care, and treatment; review individual cases and investigate complaints; educate and inform the public of laws and services affecting families and children who are placed under state supervision. OCA also helps coach families, concerned citizens, and agencies to "navigate" public service and information systems and advocate for children effectively; review facilities and procedures of public or private institutions or residences where juveniles are placed; and facilitate change by bringing different agencies together to find creative solutions to difficult problems.
Media Contacts:
Bernard Kavaler, for Disability Rights Connecticut, 860-729-3021, bernard@express-strategies.com
Christina D. Ghio, for the Office of the Child Advocate, 860-805-2100, Christina.Ghio@ct.gov
