Tag: students
New Statute Requires Schools to Provide Meal Distribution or Meal Vouchers during COVID-19 Closures to Students Eligible for Free & Reduced Price Lunches
Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On Friday, March 20, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a new bill, A-3840, to ensure the continuation of meal distribution to some of New Jersey’s most at-risk students as the State provides support to help local communities work through the COVID-19 pandemic. The statute, now P.L. 2020, c. 6, requires local school districts to provide for meal distribution or a meal voucher program during the period of school closure due to the COVID-19 epidemic for those students who are eligible to receive free and reduced price lunches. The act takes effect immediately. Under […]
N.J. District Court Affirms Dismissal of Parent’s Special Education Case as Time-Barred
In a case decided on February 11, 2020 by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Camden Vicinage, the Eastampton School District (“District”) successfully dismissed a parent’s lawsuit brought under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) on the basis that it was filed beyond the two-year statute of limitations. In McLean v. Eastampton School District, the parent of a special education student initiated a due process petition in August 2018 against the District alleging that an individualized education program (“IEP”) developed by the District in June 2016 failed to provide the student with a free […]
Court Affirms Dismissal of Parent’s Suit Challenging School’s Communication Plan Setting Reasonable Limits on Father’s Constant, Aggressive E-mails
In the world of special education, parents come in all shapes and sizes in terms of their mode of interaction with the child study team and school personnel. Some parents of special needs children are cordial, while others are friendly and appreciative. Some are matter-of-fact, while others can be much more emotional or animated. Special education parents come with varying degrees of how engaged they are or wish to be in the process of planning and communicating with the school district child study team. For the thousands of child study team members around the country who serve as case managers, […]
USDOE and USHHS Issue Joint Guidance on Application of FERPA and HIPAA to Student Health Records
In December 2019, the U.S. Department of Education (“USDOE”) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“USDHHS”) jointly issued a 26-page document, providing updated guidance on the application of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99, and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), see 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 162, and 164 (the “HIPAA Rules”), and their application to student health records. The updated guidance provides a basic overview of each of the two federal statutes, as well as 27 frequently asked questions (“FAQs”). The new guidance […]
Governor to Sign Bill to Ban Hair Discrimination
New Jersey bill entitled Create a Respectful and Open Workspace for Natural Hair Act (“CROWN Act”) was passed by the Senate on December 16, 2019 and approved by the Assembly on December 19, 2019. The CROWN Act would prohibit discrimination on the basis of hairstyle, type, or texture, which are traits historically associated with race. This bill, which further addresses discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”), will head to the Governor for signature. The NJLAD, which applies to schools and work places, would be amended to specifically define “race” to include “traits historically associated with race, including, […]
Third Circuit Clarifies Law on Independent Evaluation Requests & Need for Disagreement with District Eval
Occasionally, school district child study teams (“CSTs”) are faced with special education parents who are resistant to allowing the CST to evaluate their child, yet demand independent evaluations from an outside evaluator at the school district’s expense. In such circumstances, districts were often faced with a dilemma – either acquiesce to such demands, or file for due process themselves and incur legal fees to resist such requests, or deny the parent’s request without filing for due process and risk an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) finding that the district committed a procedural violation. This is because previous decisions of the Office […]
Commissioner of Education Upholds Finding of HIB for Comments Related to Physical Strength
In a case successfully defended by Sanu Dev, Esq., the Hainesport Township Board of Education’s (“Board”) determination of harassment, intimidation, and bullying (“HIB”) was upheld by the New Jersey Commissioner of Education (“Commissioner”) on June 19, 2019. In the case captioned M.S. and N.S. o/b/o J.S. v. Hainesport Township Board of Education, the parents of J.S. appealed the Board’s decision finding that J.S. violated the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (“ABBRA”) and committed an act of HIB when J.S. slammed another student’s Chromebook, pulled on his earbuds, called him “weakling,” and commented on the student’s athletic ability, using the phrase, […]
Lunch Debt Debacle – Part II
By: Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq.Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. Strengthening policies and procedures for outstanding lunch debt is one of the most important steps a school district can take in order to minimize the overall outstanding debt. In addition to the statutory notice provisions to parents/guardians discussed in Part I of this article series, school districts should also ensure that parents/guardians are aware of the National School Lunch Program, which provides a free or reduced price lunch to children from households meeting criteria for eligibility. Free/Reduced Lunch applications can be provided to parents/guardians and submitted at any time during the […]
Lunch Debt Debacle – Part 1
By: Lauren E. Tedesco, Esq.Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. Amassing lunch debt within school districts is not a unique circumstance. In fact, in our practice representing school districts it is a relatively common occurrence. Recently, a South Jersey school district came under scrutiny for proposing what has been dubbed the “Tuna Sandwich Policy” where a student whose lunch account is more than $10 in arrears would be provided a tuna sandwich for lunch as an alternate lunch in lieu of the lunch regularly provided and available. Those who oppose the proposed policy argue that students who receive a tuna sandwich […]
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules on Student Records Issue – Part 2
By: Zachary M. Wildsmith, Esq.Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. In last week’s article, we discussed the New Jersey Supreme Court’s decision in L.R. v. Camden City Public School District, focusing on the Court’s decision to extend the protections for student records under the New Jersey Pupil Records Act (“NJPRA”) to include redacted records. In its decision in L.R., the Court also affirmed the Appellate Division’s holding that a requestor could gain access to student records if they fell within one of the categories of “authorized” individuals and entities identified in N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7.5(e)(1) through (16). Specifically, the Appellate Division suggested, that […]
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