Common Ground is committed to informing families and guardians about parental rights and special education advocacy.
In this and upcoming editions we will share a series of basic and important special education topics on the rights, responsibilities, administrative processes, and legal remedies parents and students may encounter, and to which they are entitled.
The process for providing special education services to a child with a disability begins with a parent’s written request for evaluations made to a school district’s director of special education or special services. This communication is considered a formal referral. Alternatively, school district personnel, such as a child’s teacher, may become aware through classroom observations that a child may have a disability and can make a referral to the schools Child Study Team.
Within 20 days of this referral, the school district must convene a meeting of the school’s Child Study Team with the parent and the student’s teacher to determine if an evaluation is warranted and what the evaluation will include. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine if the student has a disability that impacts learning and requires individually designed instruction, and to assess the present level of academic and functional achievement.
If the team agrees evaluations are needed, the Child Study Team must inform the parent in writing of the decision to evaluate at least 15 calendar days before conducting the evaluation. If the parent disagrees with the team’s decision to evaluate and refuses, the school district may request a due process hearing before an administrative law judge to obtain an order to proceed.
Resources
- New Jersey Special Education Advocacy Guide, Disability Rights New Jersey.
- The Right to Special Education in New Jersey, Ed. 2; Education Law Center.
- Parental Rights in Special Education (PRISE), 2019; New Jersey Department of Education, This is the procedural safeguards statement required in accordance with New Jersey Administrative Code (N.J.A.C.) 6A:14-2.3(g)7. An updated edition of NJ’s PRISE document is expected in 2023.
- NJDOE IEP Special Education Directories, New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Special Education. Various directories of approved agencies and clinics, bilingual child study team professionals, approved transition programs, approved private schools for students with disabilities (in state and out of state), and more.
- NJDOE IEP Development and Resources, New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Special Education. Various IEP templates and procedural forms.
