Central Bucks school board holds public hearings on termination of superintendent, principal

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The Central Bucks School District Board of School Directors is holding public hearings this week as it considers whether to fire Superintendent Steven Yanni and David Heineman, principal of Jamison Elementary School. 

The district has initiated the termination proceedings for Yanni, Heineman, and three other school employees following abuse allegations in a special education classroom at Jamison Elementary School. 

A personal care assistant, who spoke at a school board meeting in May, first reported the abuse in November 2024. An internal investigation found that no abuse occurred, but following public pushback in January, the district hired a law firm to conduct an external investigation. 

Heineman was placed on administrative leave in March. Yanni was placed on administrative leave in April, following the release of an investigative report from Disability Rights Pennsylvania that found that students in the autistic support classroom “experienced abuse, neglect, illegal restraints, use of aversive techniques, and disability discrimination” at the hands of a teacher and educational assistant. The report also found that the district’s internal investigation found evidence of abuse that was not communicated to the police or the school community. 

Warwick Township Police investigated the allegations and referred their findings to Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn, who declined to press charges. 

School board member Jim Pepper, whose son is among the students subject to the alleged abuse at Jamison, will not participate in the hearings or the termination decision, according to the Bucks County Courier Times.

The daylong hearings are taking place at 9 a.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, at 16 Welden Drive, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Members of the public can attend but are not permitted to comment. Video and audiotaping are also prohibited, and no livestream is available. A court reporter will record a transcript of the hearing, a district spokesperson said.