The Right to Education for Children with Special Needs
The US Department of Education (USDOE), caught off guard by this pandemic, sent out a guidance memo on March 20, 2020, stating that if school districts are not providing any educational services to the general student population, then they don’t have to provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504).
As part of the recent economic stimulus bill ($2.2T to the American public) that Congress just passed, the USDOE’s Secretary Betsy DeVos has up to 30 days from the passage of the stimulus bill to make recommendations to Congress pertaining to special education. The biggest fear of the disability rights advocates is that DeVos will recommend that certain provisions of the IDEA and Section 504 be waived during this pandemic. The New Jersey Special Education Practitioners Group just sent a letter to DeVos urging her to protect the civil rights of students.
November 5
New Jersey Supreme Court Seeks Comments On Role Of Non-Lawyers In Special Education
If you are a parent of a child who receives special education services, your ability to fight for your child might be in danger because of a recent opinion from the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law (Committee). However, you can stop the opinion from taking away your ability to fight for your child by writing to the Committee by November 16, 2020.
The Committee released Opinion 56 on September 30, 2020, that makes it more difficult for advocates who are not lawyers to help special education students in Individualized Educational Program (IEP) meetings and mediation conferences. Opinion 56 states it would be unethical for non-lawyer advocates to “represent” students or “speak on their behalf” in IEP meetings and mediation conferences.
Opinion 56 would harm students with disabilities because there are not many free and low-cost legal services available to help their parents navigate the special education process that is difficult for anyone to learn. Over the years, non-attorney advocates have helped parents - many of whom do not have strong educational backgrounds or even speak English - in IEP meetings and mediation conferences that can be frightening. The fear of violating Opinion 56’s unclear language would discourage the use of non-attorney advocates, thus giving school districts another advantage over parents.
As a result of protests, the Committee suspended Opinion 56 to allow for the public to make comments on its impact until November 16, 2020. If you want to submit your comments based on your own experiences as parent and/or advocate of a student with disabilities, you may mail them to:
Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law
Attention: Carol Johnston, Committee Secretary
Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex
P.O. Box 970
Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0970
If you prefer, you may e-mail your comments to Comments.Mailbox@njcourts.gov instead. Please understand that no comments may be submitted anonymously.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please do to hesitate to reach out to advocate@drnj.org.
July 10
Disability Rights NJ hosted the second of two Special Education Lunch & Learn Webinars with a focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our students' needs.
Presented by Senior Staff Attorney, Robert Robinson and Regina A. Smith, Legal Extern/Certified Special Education Teacher - they provided important information for parents of children with special education needs.
This session covered:
Basics of Extended School Year and compensatory services
COVID-19's impact on both
Suggested strategies to deal with one or both
July 7
Disability Rights NJ hosted the first of two Special Education Lunch & Learn Webinars with a focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our students' needs.
Presented by Senior Staff Attorney, Robert Robinson and Regina A. Smith, Legal Extern/Certified Special Education Teacher - they provided important information for parents of children with special education needs.
This session covered:
Basics of transition services and graduation requirements
COVID-19's impact on both
Suggested strategies to deal with one or both
May 4
Disability Rights New Jersey has been fighting against an unfair policy adopted by some school districts to withhold special education and related services over the internet, unless parents agree to sign waivers of their children’s rights. We contend that this policy violates state and federal law. You can read more about this and the actions we’ve taken to stop this injustice against students with special needs in the email link below.
Disability Rights New Jersey advises our clients who signed a waiver to email their school district to rescind the waiver.
Disability Rights New Jersey Continues to Fight For Students with Disabilities
Some school districts in New Jersey are withholding Special Education Services for students now that learning has been moved to virtual classrooms. In an email shared May 4, 2020, Disability Rights NJ shared the actions taken against the the injustice, with petitions filed for Due Process and Emergent Relief against one school district refusing to provide a student his IEP services since COVID-19 forced schools to close.
April 30
The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) has become aware of instances in which school districts are requiring parents or guardians to waive certain legal rights or give written consent for services as a condition for receipt of special education or related services. The purpose of this memo is to clarify that these practices violate the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and NJDOE regulations.
April 28
Disability Rights New Jersey Referenced in NPR Update on Special Education Law Under Review by DeVos
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will not recommend that Congress waive the main requirements of three federal education laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA. The federal law ensures that children with disabilities have a right to a free, appropriate public education whenever and wherever schools are operating. However, advocates warn there are still areas to watch, including in New Jersey, where parents have been asked to waive their right to sue before districts are able to provide their children with special education services.
April 25
Rebecca Schore, Disability Rights New Jersey Director of Legal Advocacy, was iInterviewed by HUFFPOST on Special Education waivers some parents are forced to sign by school districts in order to continue education services for their children with disabilities, before being provided with the counseling and speech services outlined in their individualized education program, or IEP.
Disability Rights NJ Legal Advocacy Director Interviewed by HUFFPOST on Special Education Waivers
A form distributed by districts asks families to “waive and relinquish; fully release and discharge; and indemnify and hold harmless” the school district and all of its employees “from all claims, liabilities, causes of action, costs, expenses, attorneys’ fees, damages, indemnities, and obligations of every kind and nature, in law, equity, or otherwise,” before providing students with the counseling and speech services outlined in their individualized education program, or IEP.
The form, devised with help from an education law firm, has raised alarms for disability advocates and lawyers, who have taken up the matter with the New Jersey Department of Education. Rebecca Schore, the legal advocacy director at Disability Rights New Jersey, said her organization already has two clients who have been asked to sign the waiver in order to receive counseling and speech support.