The Glen Mills School in Glen Mills hopes to reopen as Clock Tower Schools, writes Max Marin for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The oldest existing reform school in the country shut down in 2019 after decades of child abuse and a cover-up scandal.

Now the 800-acre property has been acquired by Clock Tower Schools to run an educational program for court-ordered boys.

Clock Tower Schools applied for a license with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. It lists the school property as its address. A decision is pending.

Some lawmakers and youth advocates want the license application rejected. 

Pa. Gov. Tom Wolf’s office says it is updating DHS licensing regulations and enacting task force-recommended reforms, but advocates and lawmakers argue the state still hasn’t corrected problems at Glen Mills and other facilities where abuse has occurred.

They question if there should be another school at Glen Mills.   

“It would be unconscionable for the state to approve the reauthorization of Glen Mills at this time,” said Philadelphia City Councilmember Helen Gym. “We know the damage that’s been done … but there has never been a full investigation and public accounting of what actually happened.”

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about a Glen Mills School reopening under a new name.

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Here’s a CBS Philly news report on the proposed reopening of the school.