The US attorney’s office is investigating the Park School, a prestigious private academy in Brookline, after a family alleged their child was denied admission solely because she is disabled.

Five-year-old Harper Oates was born with a spinal cord injury that left her a quadriplegic. But when doctors tested Harper’s development as a toddler, they found her limitations were mainly confined to mobility. Cognitively, Harper was found to be one to two years ahead of her peers.

As a result, Dawn and Justin Oates expected their youngest child would go to the Park School, a 129-year-old institution with students in prekindergarten through eighth grade, just like her 6-year-old twin siblings. Just like her father did before them. But school officials denied Harper a spot early last year, calling the decision “extremely difficult.”


“The school engaged in an open, good-faith discussion with the Oates family about how Harper could thrive and have an enriching and fulfilling academic experience,” the school said in a statement to The Boston Globe. “After much careful and thoughtful deliberation, however, serious concerns remained that the Park School could not meet Harper’s educational needs.

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