A Capehart Scatchard Blog

Tag: Appellate Division

Appellate Division Reverses the Removal of School Board Member Who Sought Tuition Reimbursement

By on November 10, 2023 in Board Members, NJ School Law

By: Eric Richwine, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On November 9, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued a published decision in Board of Education of the Borough of Kinnelon v. D’Amico in which it reversed the final decision of the New Jersey Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) to remove a parent from her duly elected school board position for a purported conflict of interest following the submission of a ten-day letter on behalf of her special education child. In January of 2021, Ms. Karen D’Amico (“D’Amico”) was sworn in as a member of the Board of Education of […]

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Appellate Division Affirms Decision to Revoke Teacher’s Certificates

By: Gabi Aste-Molina, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On October 6, 2023, the Appellate Division of New Jersey affirmed the revocation of the teacher’s certificates in In re Certificates of Rita O’Malley by the State Board of Examiners for repeatedly failing to test and evaluate her students with learning disabilities. Woodbridge Township School District (“District”) employed the teacher in 2000 as a special education teacher and Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant. She was responsible for testing and diagnosing learning disabilities, developing individualized education programs, and meeting with parents and teachers to discuss the special education needs of her students. […]

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Appellate Division Upholds School Board’s Obligation to Report Former Employee’s Information Regarding Sexual Misconduct

By: Ruhani K. Aulakh, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On October 5, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division in A.B. v. Board of Education of the City of Hackensack affirmed that the Hackensack School Board (“Board”) was required to disclose information of a former employee’s sexual misconduct to the employee’s future employer under N.J.S.A. 18A:6-76.  In 2013, while employed by the Board, a teacher used social media to post inappropriate and sexually suggestive content.  The Board began an investigation into the teacher’s misconduct.  Before the conclusion of the Board’s investigation, the teacher and the Board finalized a settlement […]

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Appellate Division Upholds Amendment to Regulation Requiring Charter Schools to Contribute to Transportation Costs of Disabled Students

By on August 1, 2023 in Legislation, NJ School Law

By: Eric Richwine, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On July 3, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division in In re Adoption of N.J.A.C. 6A:27-5.1 upheld the New Jersey Department of Education’s (“the Department”) adoption of an amendment to its regulations governing the transportation of students. This appeal, on behalf of the New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association (“the Association”), arose from the Department’s amendment to N.J.A.C. 6A:27-5.1, which governs the allocation of transportation costs for disabled students who attend out-of-district charter schools. The new subsection, N.J.A.C. 6A:27-5(b), caps the financial responsibility of the district of residence for disabled […]

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35 Second Video Surveillance Footage Disclosable Under OPRA and Common Law Right of Access

On June 29, 2023, the New Jersey Appellate Division issued an unpublished opinion in the matter of Zezza v. Evesham Board of Education.  The appeal arose from a citizen’s request under the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) and the common law right of access, for approximately thirty-five (35) seconds of surveillance footage taken from two cameras at an elementary school within the Evesham Township School District (“District”).  The District denied the request for the video footage on the basis of the security exception to OPRA and the case of Gilleran v. Twp. of Bloomfield, 227 N.J. 159 (2016) for the […]

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No Denial of Access Under OPRA Where Request Submitted to Incorrect Entity

On April 20, 2023 the New Jersey Appellate Division decided an Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) matter in the case of Owoh v. City of Camden, 2023 N.J. Super. Unpub.  LEXIS 597 (App. Div. Apr. 20, 2023).  The Appellate Division determined the City of Camden (“City”) did not deny access to requested police records and the City was not obligated to retrieve the records from the County of Camden (“County”) a separate public entity.  The firm successfully represented the City on appeal. Plaintiff-Respondents, Rotimi Owoh, o/b/o African American Data and Research Institute, and Baffi Simmons (“Owoh”) filed an OPRA request […]

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Appellate Division Defines Arbitrator’s Authority Regarding Tenure Charges

By: Erika Vasant, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On August 25, 2022, in Sanjuan v. School District of West New York, the New Jersey Appellate Division in a published decision addressed the scope of an arbitrator’s authority under N.J.S.A. 18A:6-16 regarding tenure charges against a teacher. The Appellate Division held that an arbitrator may uphold a suspension without pay if a teaching staff member’s conduct was unbecoming. However, arbitrators lack the authority to demote teaching staff members from their positions. In this case, the West New York Board of Education (“Board”) demoted plaintiff Sanjuan from assistant principal to […]

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Students’ Initials Can Be Redacted in Response to an OPRA Request

By: Angela Reading, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On September 29, 2022, the New Jersey Appellate Division in L.R. o/b/o J.R. v. Cherry Hill Board of Education issued a published decision affirming a ruling by the Superior Court of New Jersey, which held that a district could redact all parent and student information, including initials, when providing settlement agreements in response to an Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) request. In this case, the plaintiff, the mother of a student with a disability, made an OPRA request to the defendant Cherry Hill Board of Education (“Board”) for all settlement […]

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School District Counsel Not Considered a Custodian Under OPRA

By: Angela Reading, Law Clerk.Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 21, 2022, the New Jersey Appellate Division in S.W. v. Elizabeth Board of Education confirmed in an unpublished opinion that a request made under the Open Public Records Act (“OPRA”) to an attorney for a public entity is invalid. The Appellate Division held that OPRA explicitly requires a request for access to a government record to be “to the appropriate custodian,” and counsel for a board of education is not a custodian within the meaning of OPRA under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g). This case arose from a special education due process […]

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Non-Renewal Recommendation in Summative Evaluation Does Not Comply With Written Notice Requirement

By: Angela Reading, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. In New Jersey, spring brings critical deadlines related to renewal decisions for teachers. N.J.S.A. 18A:27-10 mandates that by May 15 of each year, the chief school administrator provide non-tenured teachers with either a new employment contract or written notice of non-renewal of the employee’s contract. If a non-tenured teacher does not receive an employment contract or written notice by the May 15 deadline, under N.J.S.A. 18A:27-11, the employee is presumed to have received an offer of employment for the upcoming school year under the same terms and conditions of employment. […]

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