SNAPSHOT: How Long Does it Take For Special Education Cases to Be Decided in New Jersey?

State and federal laws require that all special education due process matters be completed within 45 days, unless the matter is considered “emergent” or “expedited” in which case the matter is to be resolved within 10 days. But advocates for children with disabilities found that this is not occurring in New Jersey.

1. In 2014, the average number of days from the date a matter was transmitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to the date of a decision was 126.
2. In 2017, the average number of days from the date a matter was transmitted to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) to the date of a decision had more than doubled, to 261.
3. At least ½ of all non-emergency, non-expedited due process complaints took 238 days or more to be adjudicated.
4. Only 39% of all due process matters reached a final decision within the statutory 45-day timeline.
5. Nearly 1/3 of all due process complaints (32%) were unresolved for a year or more.
6. The median number of days from transmittal of a case to final decision was 130 days – more than three times the number of days allowed by statute.
7. In 30% of the special education decisions reviewed for the report, the ALJ ruled that the school district had violated its obligations to provide a free, appropriate public education (FAPE).
8. During the years from 2008- 2016, when the number of special education cases filed with OAL doubled from 500 to over a 1000 per year, the number of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) declined 28%, from 41 to 32.

Data from “Report of the New Jersey Special Education Practitioners to the Honorable Phil Murphy, Governor: How long does it take a special education case to be decided in New Jersey?.” March 21, 2018.