Further explanation for NJ families -

1) In your post, you note this is a "class action lawsuit." What is the
defined class and why were parents not given an opportunity to consider
opting out of this class before the suit was filed?

-A class action lawsuit is what is brought when you don't want to have
to fight every single situation individual case by individual case,
which we know most parents can't afford. (In addition, many parents
are intimidated by their district and fear retribution if they go to
due process). The class action lawsuit was filed consistent with
federal rules in terms of identifying the class. The lawsuit does not
allege that every single special education student could or should be
in a general education classroom, merely that the state and districts
are not implementing the law's requirements regarding LRE.

2) We are already experiencing the wholesale return of students to
in-district placements — whether appropriate or not — due to current
budgetary issues. This action seems to be focused purely on a numerical
model (i.e., the total percentage of children who are educated
out-of-district or in segregated settings) and not at all concerned
with outcomes of the education process. How will this action protect
special ed students from an exacerbation of the prevailing
one-size-fits-all program model already being offered as both
"appropriate" and representative of "the LRE" by districts across the
state? In other words, how will this lawsuit safeguard the
*Individualized* nature of programming?

-One of the issues in the lawsuit is the fact that students with
disabilities who are in general education classrooms are often not
provided with the supports and services they need to succeed. This
lawsuit is not just about out-of-district placements, it is about all
of the requirements of LRE under federal law, including the requirement
to provide appropriate supports and services to students in general
education classrooms. The lawsuit will not change the requirement to
have individualized annual IEP meetings, nor would we want to, One
question I have for you, however. How individualized do you really
think that out of district education is? We get many calls from
parents whose children are placed in out of district placements and
immediately the placement wants to call another IEP meeting to change
the related services on the IEP because they don't provide them in the
format or group size currently in the IEP.

3) How will this lawsuit improve the outcomes for our children? How
does this lawsuit help to better prepare them for post-secondary life
(i.e., college, vocational schools, or work)?

The lawsuit alleges that the state has violated IDEA by:

(a) failing to provide children with disabilities with a free
appropriate
public education in the least restrictive environment;
(b) failing to provide children with disabilities with appropriate
supplemental aids, services, and accommodations in general education
classrooms;
(c) denying children with disabilities access to specially designed
instruction and related services in general education classrooms, based
on availability of services, extent or nature of the disability,
configuration of the service delivery system, lack of teacher training,
lack of available of space and other considerations that are unrelated
to the needs of the child;
(d) failing to institute a comprehensive system of personnel
development and professional licensure standards which ensure that
general education and special education personnel are trained and
monitored in providing children with disabilities an inclusive
education and the use of supplementary aids and services in general
education classrooms;
(e) failing to offer a full continuum of services, including specialized
instruction and other supplementary aids and services in general
education classrooms;
(f) failing to provide children with disabilities with IEPs that confer
real educational benefits;
(g) failing to afford children with disabilities the opportunity to
participate in academic and extra-curricular programs to the same
extent as, and alongside, their non-disabled peers;
(h) denying children with disabilities the opportunity to attend the
neighborhood schools they would have attended if they did not have a
disability;
(i) maintaining state funding formulas that impede the mandated
inclusion of children with disabilities;
(j) failing to appropriately and effectively monitor school district
compliance with special education mandates and ensure timely correction
of noncompliance once identified;
(k) approving the development of school facilities that impede the
inclusion of children with disabilities;
(l) approving district Long Range Facilities Plans that include models
for school facilities that impede the inclusion of children with
disabilities;
(m) denying district applications for additional aid for “nonconforming
spaces” which would allow children with disabilities to be included in
general education programs; and
(n) failing to provide sufficient, effective technical assistance and
training to districts in the provision of inclusive education services.

Further, it requests relief regarding each of these violations. If
relief regarding these issues were provided, if, indeed, all teachers
were prepared to teach all students, and if there was appropriate
ongoing professional development and coaching; if children in the
general education classroon weren't just dumped there but were instead
actually provided with individualized and appropriate supports and
services; then many more students in NJ would be able to be
appropriately and successfully included, and would be more likely to be
learning the core curriculum content standards, graduate, and have
improved post-school outcomes.

4) Won't more extensive, detailed records, such as IEPs and evaluation
reports, need to be released in order to determine whether the more
segregated placement is, indeed, the LRE for each (specific) student?
What is the total estimated cost to the state DOE and various districts
for production of these records? Where is it anticipated that money
will come from, especially now that Governor Christie has frozen all
state spending?

Parents who are seeking their children's human, civil, and IDEA rights
should not have to answer questions about "where will the money come
from?" These parents have the same right as you, any other parent, or
anyone who felt their rights were being violated, to exercise their
constitutional and legal rights, including to sue. Plaintiffs' counsel
wants to look at the state database, which comes with no names or
birthdates, just year of birth, which we felt was
"identifying-information free." The state argued that, for smaller
districts, just the description of the disability and services along
with year of birth required a FERPA notice, necessitating the mailing
to every parent of a special education student.

Diana MTK Autin

Posted in NJStrongIDEA@yahoogroups.com

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