A private residential school for boys with autism and behavioral disorders in the Berkshires is closing after the state revoked its license to operate in the wake of staff abuse investigations.
Five employees at the Eagleton School in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, were arrested in January and charged with physically and emotionally abusing students. Their cases are pending.
State reports detailed instances of staff punching, biting and using other force, and on March 17 the state Department of Early Education and Care issued an "order to protect children."
The Berkshire Eagle reports Eagleton will stay open until Friday so students can be placed in other schools.
School attorney Eric MacLeish confirms the school is closing. He says administrators tried to correct problems cited by state regulators, and is concerned for displaced students.
