I would like your readers to be aware of information discussed at a meeting on May 17 at the Plainsboro Library featuring Jennifer Halper from Disability Rights NJ and Peg Kinsell from the Statewide Advocacy Network. They spoke about one of many Department of Education (DOE) proposals to the NJ Board of Education (NJBOE) to change many regulations in the education code. I was surprised to hear of the breadth of the changes and how fast the timetable in which some have and others will be promulgated. For example, proposals to change regulations for bilingual education and charter schools are now adopted.
Halper and Kinsell explained that the broad changes were a result of the Education Transformation Task Force, called for by Governor Christie, that submitted its final 239-page report to the DOE in September, 2012. They focused on the changes to the special education regulations, but they briefly discussed changes to general education regulations that are also included in this current proposal (for example, education for students who are chronically ill and those with long-term suspensions).
The special education regulation changes will significantly affect the quality of the education, supports, and parental rights for special needs students (for example, eliminating case managers, reducing the attendance of key educators at meetings, reducing time to notify parents of meetings or changes, extending time to re-evaluate students to almost a third of the school year). It’s also important to note that these special education changes could impact the quality of services to the general education students (for example, guidance counselors’ time absorbed by the additional work once held by case managers).
When asked why these changes are so broad and so fast, the speakers referenced the task force’s rationale to make it easier for school administrators to comply with the regulations. Halper and Kinsell reminded us that election years are often great motivators for politicians and their appointees. When asked what can be done if people have concerns, they emphasized the need for parents to voice their concerns through letters to the NJBOE, attendance at the next NJBOE meeting on Wendesday, June 5, and at the next meeting of the NJ Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Schools on Tuesday, June 11.
As the Educational Transformation Task Force stated in its final report, its work is “the most ambitious set of organizational and directional changes in the history of the Department of Education.” I urge all parents to educate themselves about these changes and consider whether it’s worth slowing down the adoption process to give the legislature’s task force the opportunity to thoroughly review the impact of the current proposal and make improvements that balance the needs of all parties. The following are some resources to help parents become more informed and to learn how they can voice their concerns:
www.state.nj.us/education/code/proposed/title6a/chap14.pdf, www.drnj.org, www.spannj.org, www.wwpseptsa.org.
Kathleen Moriarty
President, WW-P Special Education PTSA
