Families petition to block changes to special ed laws
Hillsborough Beacon,
Thursday, May 5, 2005
A petition drive launched by an organization of local parents seeks to prevent
weakening of New Jersey’s Special Education Law.
The concerns raised by A
Parents Initiative for Every Child’s Education or APIECE stem from provisions of
federal special education law revisions passed as part of IDEIA 2004.
” “It is very possible that most parents with children in special education are
unaware of what their rights are and what they are entitled to. Districts take
advantage of such lack of knowledge and our children get shortchanged,
segregated and scapegoated in the process. Now the federal government wants to
give the states more power to take away our rights.”
The specific areas of concern include opposition to elimination of short term goals, adoption of 3-year individualized education plans or “IEP’s”, loosening laws on who must attend IEP planning sessions and elimination of mid-year reporting requirements.
The parents are also concerned about provision which shift the burden of proof for discipline measures to punish disability related behaviors and the elimination of “stay put” measures which currently require districts to maintain status quo of placement while matters are in dispute between parents and a district.
The new law also allows lengthening the time for a student to be removed toalternative education environments, reduction in frequency of parental notification of their rights, implementation of statute of limitations whereby parents can hold a district legally accountable, imposition of state run mediation meetings and increasing the age at which transition services begin from 14 to 16.
“We are calling upon the NJ Department of Education, the Acting Governor and the State Legislature to set an example for the rest of the nation that they understand the plight of families with disabled children and that they will do everything in their capacity to eliminate any weakening of NJ Special Education Law by IDEIA 2004.” Mr. Witanek said.
The petition drive is being coordinated from the Web site http://StudentAdvocate-NJ.org . The petition outlines 11 specific points and calls upon the state not to weaken special education law in those areas.
Organizers of the petition drive believe that parents already are often overwhelmed and intimidated by school districts with greater resources. If anything, they say, laws should be strengthened to give parents and students greater protection and more rights in the special education process.
Recently, Special Education Director Barbara Gantwerk sent a letter to all of the school districts asking for feedback on IDEIA 2004 as to how it should be implemented. Members of the APIECE organization responded by sending a letter to Ms. Gantwerk calling upon her to send a letter to all of the special needs parents in the state asking them for input.
At the website where the petition drive is based, signers and supporters of students with disabilities are also invited to write letters to Barbara Gantwerk, the Acting Governor of NJ and state legislators. The website provides tips on how to craft such letters and asks petition signers to commit themselves to getting such letters out.
In the first two weeks of the petition drive almost 250 signatures from throughout the state have been gathered. Petition organizers state that they are only starting to get the word out.
“We are getting a very enthusiastic response, not only from families of children challenged with disabilities, but from many other sectors around NJ,” Mr. Witanek said.
APIECE also plans on organizing workshops, hold parent hearings, calling state legislators to hold public hearings and possibly organizing rallies and trips to Trenton to pressure the state.
“We need to impress upon those in Trenton that many of our children’s very survival as well as their ability to blossom toward their full potential often depends on the rights of parents and students to advocate against the powerful school districts, “ Mr. Witanek said. “Through this process, we are identifying our constituency and organizing ourselves into a more potent powerful force and should our leaders in Trenton let us down, we will be preparing our appropriate measures to carry our efforts forward.”
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