January 18 Hearings /
Candle Light Support Rally Press Coverage
January 18, 2006: Promotional Info From Before Event
Parent Victory – Board Hearing Rooms Maxed Out
(and Board Attempts to Befuddle are Overcome!)
Mention of code issue in article about test scores
Jan 18 Support Letter to Editor
Press coverage will be updated
to this link:
http://studentadvocate-nj.org/january_18_hearings_press.htm
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Parents aim to teach state a lesson
Dozens express concerns over proposed changes to special education
Friday, January 20, 2006
BY JOHN MOONEY
Star-Ledger Staff
Maybe it's not your typical family outing, but Evelyn and Ramon Delgado packed up their three young children on Wednesday and drove to Trenton for something dear to their hearts: special education.
With two children diagnosed with autism, the Woodbridge couple have become experts on the subject. And inside the state Department of Education, they reeled off details of "individualized education programs" and "manifestation determinations."
"We thought they should see
the children most affected," said Ramon Delgado, his children's winter coats
piled high in his arms.
The Delgados were attending the state Board of Education's public hearing on the
New Jersey's
special-education code, recently revised to match federal rules.
And while it can be dry stuff, there are countless families like the Delgados who see their own children in the chapters and subchapters of the inch-thick document.
Take one provision of the proposed code that has riled many parents. The proposal would cut paperwork by allowing districts and parents to set in writing only annual goals for a child, be they academic, behavior or other skills, and waive the need for so-called "short-term objectives."
On Wednesday, Ramon Delgado looked to his own 9-year-old daughter, Eryn, as she played on a couch outside the hearing.
Eryn has a high-functioning form of autism known as Asperger's syndrome and attends a private school, paid for by her home district. But the teacher left, and she has missed four months of speech therapy, her father said. Under the new rules, he said, another eight months could pass before the problem is remedied.
"Boy, there would go the whole year for my daughter," he said.
Last revised in 1999, the state code is under review to bring it in line with the latest changes in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the 1975 legislation that drives much of special education nationwide.
IDEA was reauthorized in 2004 with new rules aimed at reducing some of the procedural and paperwork requirements of the law, which are often criticized by school districts and others as too cumbersome.
The new IDEA also gave New Jersey some leeway in setting its own regulations, and it was those changes that drew much of the crowd of more than 70 speakers Wednesday night, most of them parents and their advocates.
For many parents attending, any changes that lessen requirements on districts also lessen families' protections and control of their children's education.
Under the proposal, for instance, New Jersey would allow certain teachers and other personnel to be excused from required meetings to discuss a child's "individualized education program," the critical document known as the IEP that sets a child's services.
It would also make it easier to suspend a child from a school for misbehaving, including incidents in which the misbehavior might be due to the disability itself.
Denise Bouyer, whose 8-year-old daughter has Down's syndrome, spoke of how her child was suspended from her Willingboro kindergarten class after poking a teacher with a pencil. She filed a request for a hearing, but she had to keep her daughter out of school in the meantime.
"When I tried to bring her back to school, I was refused entry," she said.
Some of the proposals won parents' backing, including a requirement that every district have a parent advisory council. Another would reduce some of the class sizes for students with disabilities.
But with many new requirements also come added costs. For instance, school districts have complained those smaller class sizes will be expensive.
Ewing Superintendent Raymond Broach said his district would need to hire 14 teachers under the proposed code. He put the total potential cost as high as $2.5 million.
The code is still in the formal discussion stages with the state board and is likely to have another public hearing this spring.
John Mooney covers education. He may be reached at jmooney@star ledger.com, or (973) 392-1548.
http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060120/NEWS01/601200332/1006
Parents protest new rules for special-education students
By
LAUREN
O. KIDD
Gannett
State Bureau
Parents of special-education students in Montgomery have taken their opposition to proposed new rules regulating their children's schooling to the State Board of Education.
State officials say the new rules, intended to conform to federal guidelines, will "enhance" learning opportunities for the more than 212,000 children classified for special-education instruction in New Jersey.
But Patricia Ewell, who lives in the Belle Mead section of Montgomery, worries that her grandson, a special-needs eighth-grader, wouldn't have the same opportunities under the new rules. He's doing well now at a private school, but it took a long time to get to the point, she said.
Ewell and other Montgomery parents were among 25 advocates who gathered near the Delaware River outside the state Department of Education building in Trenton on Wednesday for a vigil before attending a hearing on the issue by the State Board of Education.
"We as parents and advocates have to let them know we will not accept anything but quality education," Ewell said.
At the hearing, Bob Witanek, another Belle Mead resident, presented a petition opposing the proposed new rules, some of which he said would be "damaging to protections and rights that our children have and that we have as their parents."
Witanek said Thursday that the petition had received "tremendous support from the Somerset and Union County areas with literally hundreds from Montgomery, Hillsborough, Plainfield, Bedminster and Bridgewater signing on."
Witanek was joined at the Wednesday rally and hearing by his son, Robert Colby-Witanek, a sixth-grader in the Montgomery School district, who also addressed the state board.
Statewide, about 2,000 people statewide have signed petitions opposing any changes in state regulation that do not strengthen "the rights of students with special needs and their families."
The petitions also argue for maintaining mid-year progress reports and short-term objectives on 'Individualized Education Plans,' or I.E.P.'s. They oppose changes to disciplinary rules.
Richard Vespucci, spokesman for the state Department of Education, said the proposed changes are in line with amendments to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which took effect in December 2004. A final decision on the changes is "at least two months away," he said.
The Courier News also contributed to this report.
from the Courier News website www.c-n.com
http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/113766163618530.xml?times?nxs&coll=5
A picture appeared on
the front page with the following caption provided a leader to this story of the
January 19. 2006 Trenton Times:
Making A Statement
Parents and educators hold a candlelight vigil at the State Board of Education
in Trenton to protest proposed changes to special education rules that they fear
will diminish the rights of children and their parents.
Parents protesting
special-ed
changes
Thursday, January 19, 2006 , Trenton Times
By MARK PERKISS
Staff Writer
Parents and other advocates for special education students yesterday complained that proposed new regulations by the state Department of Education will harm children and give more decision-making power to school districts.
"If these new rules go into effect it will diminish the rights of children and our rights as their parents," Bob Witanek, a leader of the New Jersey Student Advocacy Union, said last night at a State Board of Education public hearing on the proposed regulations.
Among the proposed new rules, which are designed to meet revisions in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, are those setting special education class sizes and staffing requirements for districts, and elimination of mid-year assessments of students' progress.
The proposed changes drew a group of 25 protesters who held a candlelight vigil last night outside the Department of Education's offices in River View Plaza in Trenton before the public hearing.
"Our children need the rights and protection they rely on and deserve," said Susan Fiordland of Upper Freehold, a co-chairwoman of the Student Advocacy Union.
Plans call for the State Board of Education to adopt a new special education code in time for next school year, said department spokesman Richard Vespucci.
In a November memorandum outlining the proposal, acting Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said the new rules will improve "learning opportunities for students with disabilities through improved procedural protections."
While there are parts of the proposed regulations they like, advocacy groups for parents of special education students, school districts and teachers say the new rules will create problems and increased costs.
"One of the big things is that they're proposing to get rid of short-term goals and objectives for students," said Diana Autin, executive director of the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network.
"The Individual Educational Programs for these students require annual goals and the short-term goals are the tool the parent, the teachers and the case manager use along the way to show progress toward the annual goals," she said.
She also criticized a provision that allows districts to make changes in special education students' programs without meeting with parents. "That swings the pendulum too far toward the districts," she said.
Autin and Witanek criticized a proposal to allow regular education teachers to skip meetings where students' academic programs are being developed.
"The regular education teacher is the link to the core curriculum content standards," Autin said. "The special education teacher may know how best to deliver the material, but the regular education teacher knows what material needs to be delivered."
Steve Baker, a spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, the powerful statewide teachers union, agreed. "We oppose that provision because the regular education teachers are the best judges of the students and it's a mistake to excuse them and lose their expertise."
While parts of the proposed special education code will help districts, such as provisions that reduce paperwork and administrative procedures, the plan has major drawbacks, said Mike Yaple, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association.
"The negative side deals with
the extra costs that will be loaded onto districts," he said. "Requiring smaller
classes and reducing the number of students who can be in a class before an aide
is required will cost money. Our conservative estimate is $16.5 million in added
costs statewide and it's probably higher than that." NOTE: Contact Mark Perkiss
at mperkiss@njtimes.com or at (609) 989-5723.
Parents have issues with new
special
ed rules
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 01/19/06
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060119/NEWS0301/601190565/1008
BY
LAUREN
O. KIDD
GANNETT STATE BUREAU
TRENTON — Parents of special education students, opposed to proposed changes to state rules regulating their children's schooling, voiced their concerns before the State Board of Education at a public hearing Wednesday.
About 25 of the advocates gathered near the Delaware River outside the state Department of Education building for a vigil before the hearing, all bundled up and some holding candles that were being blown out by the persistent wind.
Belle Mead resident Patricia Ewell, worries that her grandson, a special-needs eighth-grader, wouldn't have the same opportunities under the new rules. He's doing well now at a private school, but it took a long time to get to the point, she said.
"We as parents and advocates have to let them know we will not accept anything but quality education," Ewell said.
At issue, according to Bob Witanek, the father of a sixth-grade special education student in Belle Mead, are "particular changes that we believe are damaging to protections and rights that our children have and that we have as their parents."
The state has proposed updating its rules to "fall in line with the federal regulations," said Richard Vespucci, spokesman for the state Department of Education. Amendments to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, took effect in December 2004.
Now in the "proposal stage," a final decision on state regulation changes is "at least two months away," Vespucci said.
"The proposed rules will enhance learning opportunities for students with disabilities through improved procedural protections, a reduction in administrative requirements and procedures on district boards of education and their personnel, including fewer meetings and reduced paperwork in several areas, and simplification and improvement of programmatic requirements," acting Education Commissioner Lucille Davy wrote in a memo to the state Board of Education.
But Peg Kinsell, director of public policy for the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network, said her group is "very concerned."
"There are issues about due process that have changed, there are issues about discipline, there are issues around goals and objectives," said Kinsell, a Browns Mills resident and mother of three young adults with special needs.
About 2,000 people statewide have signed a petition calling for New Jersey to "at the very least hold the line to pre-December 2004 revisions," and if changes are to be made, to strengthen "the rights of students with special needs and their families."
Among other provisions, petition signers want to ensure mid-year progress reports and short-term objectives on "Individualized Education Plans,' or I.E.P.'s, are kept. They also want to stop changes to discipline rules.
More than 212,000 children, about 15 percent of enrollment, are classfied for special-education instruction.
Lauren O. Kidd:
lkidd@gannett.com
The same
text appeared in the Gannett Courier Post.
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060119/NEWS01/601190376/1006
A version of it also appeared in the Daily Record (Morris County Gannett paper) but there is no link for that story.
A large picture
appeared on page 5 of the
January 19,
2006
Trentonian, without an article. The caption read:
”Lights for Rights . . . Mary Zink of Greenbrook participates in last night’s
candlelight vigil at the state’s Board of Education building at Riverview Plaza
in support of the rights of
special
education students in New Jersey. About two dozen protesters gathered for the
vigil which was organized by a nmber of NJ student advocate groups in response
to proposals for changes to special education that they say will negatively
effect the quality of special education in state schools.”
http://www.njherald.com/secure_story/352025001502801.php
Vernon
mom signs special needs petition
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
By JEANETTE CALO
Herald Staff Writer
As the mother of two children with special needs, Annette Marotta said it is often a challenge to provide her children with the tools her children need to learn.
The Vernon resident's frustration was increased by proposed changes to state special education laws that govern how 225,000 children are educated at New Jersey's public schools.
"(The government) is trying to cut corners, and the children suffer," Marotta said Tuesday, one day before the second round of hearings regarding the laws will be held.
In a petition signed by nearly 2,000 people, parents of children with special needs called upon the state Department of Education to protect the rights of students with disabilities and establish a more collaborative process in the redraft of education codes, according to Bob Witenek, editor of the New Jersey Student Advocate newspaper.
Marotta signed the petition.
"We don't want a limousine to take them to school, and they don't need to go to a fancy private academy," she said. "We just want to get them what they need to succeed."
The petition objects to 11 proposals its signers say would undermine students' rights and limit their parents' involvement. The proposals include changing Individual Education Plans without requiring a meeting with parents and removing "stay put" laws, which govern when a student may be removed from a classroom, Witenek said.
Many parents are not even aware of the hearings, said Susan Fiordland, petition co-chairwoman of the New Jersey Student Advocacy Union. The union is sponsoring a candlelight vigil for the rights of children with special needs tonight at 5:30 in front of the state Board of Education building in Trenton.
"I believe that many parents are not aware of the impact these changes will mean to their children's special education, and I urge them to investigate what is actually on the table here," Fiordland said.
Vernon resident Margo Spilotras, the mother of two special needs children, said she was shocked when she heard about the proposed changes.
"Special needs children deserve the same education," Spilotras said. "It's the same if you have a child that's gifted — they should be given every opportunity."
Witanek said it is essential to "overhaul" the proposed changes.
"We cannot take a least common denominator approach when it comes to addressing the needs of children in special education," Witanek said. "Many parents already face an uphill battle in advocating for our children."
Moratta's battle led to three lawsuits in different school districts in an attempt to get her children what she believes they need.
"It's all about keeping costs down and it's unfair to the kids (whose) rights are being challenged and manipulated," she said.
"The laws are changing in the school district's favor — the situation is becoming worse, and it's getting more challenging to be an advocate."
Spilotras agrees.
"If you don't do parent advocacy, especially in this day and age, your child is going to get lost," she said.
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January 18,
2006: Hold a Candle Light for Our Children's Rights
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