It's no news that New Jersey's 225,333 students with disabilities have lost many essential services during 14 months of COVID-19 school closures and distance learning. In response, some families have sued school districts to receive compensatory education services. This is a guaranteed right after Governor Phil Murphy signed bipartisan law S905/A1281, protecting the rights of students with disabilities to compensatory education due to COVID-19. -19 schools closed.
Here's the news: 80% of students who filed complaints and received decisions were denied the special education services required by the bill.
why? asked special education attorney Jamie Epstein. He said the law was “unenforceably vague,” leaving students with disabilities unable to get the services they missed.
As an example of how NJ can do better, California approved $2 billion in Education Recovery Fund money to be spent specifically on students who are unable to access educational programs due to disabilities or other circumstances (no internet or laptops). corona. Mark Rosenbaum, CA plaintiffs' lead attorney, described it as a “historic settlement” that ensures funds go to students “who need it most.” Ultimately, the federal government gave public school districts more than $190 billion between March 2020 and March 2021 for that purpose. “Unfortunately, unlike California, New Jersey was able to pocket $190 billion in federal COVID funds instead of paying for supplemental education services for students with disabilities,” Epstein says.
Epstein painstakingly calculated the 80% denial rate, often justified by reasons such as, “I conclude that the district did its best to address the needs of students during these unprecedented times.”
Here is a list of approved and rejected cases:
case number | Page | granted | rejected | Not applicable | |
One | 2022 New Jersey AGEN Lexis 650 * | 64 | X | ||
2 | 2022 New Jersey AGEN Lexis 650 * | 106 | X | ||
three | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 33 * | 165 | X | ||
4 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 74 * | 187 | X | ||
5 | 2021 NJ AGEN Lexis 673 | 201 | X | ||
6 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 708 * | 225 | X | ||
7 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 636 * | 260 | X | ||
8 | 2020 NJ AGEN Lexis 679 * | 279 | X | ||
9 | 9 cases: 2023 NJ AGEN LEXIS 716 * | 304 | X | ||
10 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 718 * | 333 | X | ||
11 | 2023 New Jersey AGEN Lexis 909 | 380 | X | ||
12 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 956 * | 431 | X | ||
13 | 2021 NJ AGEN Lexis 841 * | 483 | X | ||
14 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 715 * | 509 | X | ||
15 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 665 * | 522 | X | ||
16 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 192 * | 563 | X | ||
17 | 2020 NJ AGEN Lexis 691 * | 571 | X | ||
18 | 2020 NJ AGEN Lexis 643 * | 633 | X | ||
19 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 773 * | 655 | X | ||
20 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 309 * | 682 | X | ||
21 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 77 * | 704 | X | ||
22 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 368 * | 740 | X | ||
23 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 141 * | 773 | X | ||
24 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 659 * | 795 | X | ||
25 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 779 * | 808 | X | ||
26 | 2023 New Jersey AGEN Lexis 900 * | 817 | X | ||
27 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 783 * | 836 | X | ||
28 | 2022 NJ AGEN Lexis 649 * | 846 | X | ||
29 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 794 * | 859 | X | ||
30 | 2023 NJ AGEN Lexis 267 * | 910 | X | ||
31 | 2021 NJ AGEN Lexis 848 * | 930 | X | ||
32 | 2021 NJ AGEN Lexis 701 * | 964 | X | ||
33 | 2020 NJ AGEN Lexis 583 * |
…