ARC: PRESERVE CRITICAL PROTECTIONS FOR STUDENTS UNDER THE IDEA 2004!!

Below, please find an Action Alert regarding the potential changes to the IDEA. We are hoping to generate a lot of letters to Barbara Gantwerk at the Office of Special Ed, Department of Education. We'd like to get as many letters as possible by JUNE 24TH, 2005. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you!

P.S. I am sending this Action Alert out to several different listserves, so I apologize if you receive it twice.

ACTION ALERT: PRESERVE CRITICAL PROTECTIONS FOR STUDENTS UNDER THE IDEA 2004!!

Join us in telling the Department of Education that we will be hurting our children if we institute some of these regulations in our NJ State Special Education Law!!

Action Needed:

We are asking that everyone send a letter to Barbara Gantwerk, The Director, Office of Special Education Programs, requesting that she consider maintaining some of the critical protections which can adversely affect special education students if they are implemented in New Jersey's regulations. The federal statutes have already been passed, but New Jersey has not yet decided which of these guidelines they plan to comply with. This is why the NJ Department of Education needs to hear from you. We need to voice our opinion about which protections need to remain in place for our students. If you can include a personal story conveying how these potential regulations would affect you, your family, or students you know, please do so. Mail your letters to:

Ms. Barbara Gantwerk, Director
Office of Special Education Programs
New Jersey Department of Education
PO Box 500
Trenton, NJ 08625

Below, please find a brief description of some of these proposed changes. Feel free to select any number of these items to include in your letter. For more information on the changes to the IDEA visit our website and find the latest edition of our Education Advocate newsletter:

Talking Points:

Recommendation: Maintain the requirement of short-term objectives in student IEPs in the state special education regulations

Short-term objectives and benchmarks are necessary to assess a student's progress and ultimately determine whether they will be able to meet their long-term goals by the end of the year. These are a vital part of the IEP and need to continue being used!!

Recommendation: Do not apply to be a pilot state under the multi-year IEP program; maintain the requirement for annual IEP reviews in the state special education regulations

Annual IEP review meetings are important in evaluating a student's progress and educational program. These meetings also help build parent-district relationships. If IEPs are not reviewed annually it can be detrimental to students and their potential progress.

Recommendation: Maintain the attendance and participation requirement for all IEP team members in the state special education regulations.

The collaboration of all IEP team members is crucial in ensuring a well-written and appropriate IEP. All members of the team need this input to get a sense of the "whole picture" of the student, therefore the attendance of all team members should be mandatory!!

Recommendation: Maintain the progress extent clause in the special education regulations

The new IDEA removes the requirement that progress reports specifically state "the extent to which the progress is sufficient to attain the goal by the end of the year." Progress reports need to indicate if the student will be able to achieve the annual goals laid out in their IEP. This language needs to remain in the NJ special education code!!

Recommendation: Maintain the current law on manifestation determination. The burden of proof should remain on the district.

NJ school districts are far better equipped to have the burden of proving whether or not the student's behavior was a result of his/her disability. Many parents of students in special education in New Jersey cannot afford to hire a lawyer or outside consultant, which they would have an increased need for if this burden were moved.

Recommendation: Maintain the current law regarding the stay-put rule.

While an appeal is pending, it is crucial that the student remain in his/her current placement, not the placement recently prescribed by the school district. Students with disabilities have difficulty transitioning to new settings and it can be traumatic to place them somewhere else while a decision is pending!!

Recommendation: Continue to formally begin transition at age 14

Students with disabilities require several years to learn the independent living skills, occupational skills, etc. needed to do well in the adult world. For that reason, transition planning needs to continue to formally begin at age 14.

Recommendation: Do not choose to spend IDEA funding on pre-classification.

Districts are already saying that funding is a problem in getting special education students the services they require. To allocate this money to students not yet classified would be unfair.

Stephanie Kramer
Coordinator, Education Advocacy
The Arc of NJ
985 Livingston Avenue
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
732-246-2525 ext. 20
skramer@arcnj.org