Central Bucks Hires Outside Counsel To Review Abuse Allegations

DOYLESTOWN, PA ? The Central Bucks School Board has retained special counsel to look into allegations of child abuse in a special education classroom at Jamison Elementary School last fall and how the allegations were reported out by the administration.

During a special meeting on Feb. 6, the board voted 8 to 0 with one abstention to hire Leigh E. Dalton, an attorney with the York County-based law firm of Stock and Leader to re-investigate the incident and the administration?s response.

?We do not have any prior connection or relationship to her but we do believe her to be uniquely qualified to provide an objective, thorough third party independent review of the situation and allegations,? said board president Susan Gibson, noting that the board was provided with her name by a neighboring school district, which used her services regarding allegations of a student assault as well as the administration?s handling of the incident.

Prior to the vote, board member Jim Pepper, who abstained from the vote and who is the father of one of the students in the special education classroom at Jamison alleged to have been abused, asked whether the review would be limited to an examination of the circumstances surrounding the allegations or would also include the administration?s response.

?That?s the only thing that is called out,? he said of the motion. ?Why is the focus on the circumstances surrounding the allegations as opposed to the reporting out of the allegations?? he asked.

Gibson said there was no intention to exclude the reporting out of the allegations. ?That is definitely the intent of the investigation to include the allegations themselves and the handling of the allegations and the reporting out of them. It will include everything from the beginning to where we are today,? she said.

The investigation is expected to take two to three months to complete.

Dalton is a partner in Stock and Leader?s School Law Group, concentrating in public education, including special education, student/pupil services, compliance monitoring, and student discipline.

Prior to joining Stock and Leader, Dalton served as the Director of the York County Truancy Prevention Initiative, a program of the United Way of York County, in partnership with the York County Bar Foundation. In that role, she provided training and education on truancy to audiences across the state.

She also served as the Director of Legal Services for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association and acting as the Chief of Special Education Monitoring and Accountability Section at the Maryland State Department of Education.

In 2022, the Central Penn Business Journal named Dalton an honoree as a Women of Influence, an annual event recognizing a select few women leaders in the mid-state who are influential in their companies, industries and communities, and have solid reputations based on their experience, integrity, leadership, and accomplishments.

Dalton holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 2008, she received her Juris Doctorate after graduating cum laude from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she was named the University?s Public Interest Grant recipient in 2006 and Public Service Scholar in 2008. In 2015, Dr. Dalton earned her Ph.D. in education policy from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and was recognized as an ?Exceptional Graduate.?