by Common Ground | Aug 11, 2014 | Capitols
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has signed into law a bipartisan measure (S-2079) designed to ensure that students with disabilities are able to participate in athletics, and are provided with reasonable accommodations or modifications, based on their individual...
by Common Ground | Aug 11, 2014 | Courts
The United States District Court has upheld the decision of an Administrative Law Judge, requiring a New Jersey School district to reimburse parents for placement in an approved private school. The case involves a preschooler with severe autism for whom private...
by Common Ground | Aug 11, 2014 | Courts
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held that the provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for services in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) apply to extended school year, (ESY) services. The case involves a...
by Common Ground | Aug 11, 2014 | Courts
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), along with its affiliate organizations the NFB of New Jersey and the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC), joined with the parents of a blind high school student in New Milford, New Jersey to file suit...
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Features
By STAN KARP The New York Times says it’s “clearly the most important education reform in the country’s history.” But a recent Gallop poll says nearly two out of three people have never heard of it. ‘It’ is the “Common Core,” a new set of tougher curriculum standards...
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Letters
There have been many attempts to standardize education since schooling for all children became mandatory in most Western countries. As a child in England, I took the 11-plus exam three times in the space of one year in a futile attempt to pass the standardized test....
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Courts
Earlier this year, advocate groups in New Jersey entered into a settlement agreement with the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) in a seven-year-old law suit intended to help ensure that children with disabilities are educated in the “least restrictive...
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Courts
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the “stay put” provision of IDEA remains relevant, even when a student has aged out of public school. The case involves a Hawaii student with severe disabilities, who filed for due process in order to remain at the...
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Courts
A New Jersey Administrative Law Judge recently ordered a central New Jersey school district to reimburse parents for the tuition costs of a state-approved private school. The case involves a teenage girl with bipolar disorder classified as “emotionally...
by Common Ground | Apr 22, 2014 | Courts
An Administrative Law Judge has ordered the New Jersey Department of Health to reimburse the parent of a child with autism for the cost of services she purchased for her child before he turned three. The case involves a toddler with disabilities, who was served...