Advocates told Assembly lawmakers Thursday that a key tool available to parents of children who require special education services is underenforced by the state, leaving most to pursue other, slower dispute resolution processes that could leave them with hefty legal bills.
Speakers told the Assembly Education Committee that New Jersey’s special education office often allowed districts to self-report compliance with corrective action plans issued as a result of a state complaint. The lack of more direct oversight sometimes meant problems with students’ special education services were never resolved, they said.
Mary Ciccone, director of policy for Disability Rights New Jersey, said the complaint investigation process is only effective if the state office “fully enforces its determinations.”
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“Without adequate and meaningful enforcement, districts will continue their noncompliance, and students will not receive the services and supports they need,” Ciccone said.
The comments were delivered at a hearing on the state’s handling of special education complaint investigations. The panel did not weigh legislation that would alter those investigations Thursday.
In New Jersey, parents of a child with a disability can seek remedies for issues with services or compliance with their child’s individual education plan by filing complaints that prompt investigations by the special education office, seeking a due process hearing before an administrative law judge, or requesting mediation.
The lack of clear enforcement and transparency issues that can prevent parents from obtaining evidence turned over to state investigators during a complaint investigation could harm faith in that system, pushing parents to other pathways, Ciccone said.
Few parents pursue state complaints. Data maintained by the Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education found New Jersey parents filed 118 state complaints in the 2020-2021 school year — the most recent period for which data is available — compared to 569 mediation requests and 1,117 due process complaints.
“Our perspective is that complaint investigation’s intended to be a powerful tool for states, but it’s being underutilized in New Jersey,” said Elizabeth Athos, senior attorney for the Education Law Center.
Because school districts are always represented by attorneys in mediation or administrative law hearings, parents also feel they must hire legal representation when seeking resolutions through those pathways, Ciccone said. Investigations by the special education office are undertaken at no cost to parents.
The investigations are also required by state and federal law to make a determination on a complaint investigation within 60 days. Administrative law cases and mediation can take far longer, Ciccone said.
Athos asked that the Legislature require state officials to share evidence provided by districts as part of an investigation with complaining parents and post decisions online to prevent duplicative cases and clarify rules for districts and parents.
The office should also be required to take a more direct role in setting and overseeing corrective action, she said.
“We need a system that is a viable alternative to protect the rights of students whose parents don’t have the sophistication or resources to go to due process,” she said.
The Department of Education, which contains the special education office, did not return a request seeking comment.
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