The New Jersey State Board of Education has adopted temporary rule modifications to Chapter 14 of New Jersey Administrative Code, which governs the delivery of special education and related services to students with disabilities. The State Board, acting pursuant to Executive Order No. 103 (Murphy, 2020), adopted temporary regulations that allow school districts and educational agencies to deliver special education and related services to students with disabilities through the use of telehealth, telemedicine, electronic communications, remote, virtual, or other online platforms.
Prior to the Board’s actions, the regulations did not permit school districts and educational agencies to deliver related services to students with disabilities through the use of telehealth, telemedicine, electronic, online or virtual platforms.
In an April 3, memo to schools on the code modification, Assistant NJDOE Commissioner Peggy McDonald stated, “these rule modifications enhance the ability school districts and educational agencies to satisfy their legal obligations to provide a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) to students with disabilities during a period of extended school closures resulting from COVID-19. It is important to note that these rule modifications alone do not ensure that school districts and educational agencies will meet their legal obligation to provide FAPE. These rule modifications are intended to provide IEP Teams with the flexibility necessary to implement services during unprecedented school closures. However, the modifications do not relieve school districts and educational agencies of the responsibility to ensure that the services implemented are properly individualized and those most appropriate for a student with disabilities.”
