Tag: students
N.J. Supreme Court Finds School District Not Liable for Failure to Notify Parent of Vision Tests Results
The parents of a student, who developed a vision impairment, sued the Mullica Township Board of Education (“Board”) under the New Jersey Tort Claims Act (“TCA”) for the school nurse’s failure to inform them that the student failed a visual acuity test during the 2001-2002 school year. In 2004, the student again failed the test. At that time, the school nurse notified the parents of the results of both tests. On August 17, 2016, New Jersey Supreme Court in Parsons v. Mullica Township Board of Education, _N.J._(2016) ruled that the TCA immunized the Board, as a public entity, from liability because […]
Student Loses Stay-Put When Moving to New School District
Stay-put is the last agreed upon placement for a special education student. According to a recent decision issued by the U.S. District Court of New Jersey in Cinnaminson Township Board of Education v. K.L., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104706 (D.N.J. Aug. 9, 2016), a student loses stay-put when he or she moves from one school district to another. During the 2013-2014 school year, special education student R.L. resided within the Berlin Borough Township Board of Education (“Berlin”). During that school year, R.L.’s parent filed for due process against Berlin regarding R.L.’s educational placement. Ultimately, on October 28, 2014, R.L.’s parent […]
Upcoming Seminar: “Nuts and Bolts of Section 504 and Student Discipline”
On Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 2:00 p.m., Joseph Betley, Esq. and Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. will be presenting at the New Jersey Charter School Conference in Atlantic City. Their presentation is entitled, “Nuts and Bolts of Section 504 and Student Discipline.” For more information, please click here.
Request to Produce Student Records Not Available Through Due Process
Parents may initiate a due process petition on behalf of their child against a school district or charter school with the New Jersey Office of Special Education Programs (“OSEP”) for special education related claims arising under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”) and N.J.A.C. 6A:14-1.1 et seq., which include disagreements regarding identification, reevaluation, classification, educational placement, the provision of a free appropriate public education, or disciplinary action. However, the right to initiate a due process hearing does not extend to a request to compel a school district to produce student records, according to a recent decision issued by Administrative […]
Parent Required to Reimburse School District for Failure to Establish Student’s Eligibility for Enrollment
A child is eligible to enroll in a school district and receive a free public education if the parent or guardian of the child is domiciled within the district or the child is kept in the home of an-other person domiciled within the school district as an affidavit student pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1(b)(1). Domicile is established when the student spends the majority of his time at a residence located within the school district and intends to make that residence his permanent home. Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:22-3.1(a)(1)(i), when the parents are separated and are domiciled in different school districts, the student’s […]
IDEA Does Not Limit Compensatory Education Claims to Two Years
On September 22, 2015, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that will have widespread implications for New Jersey school districts in defending against claims brought by parents of special education students pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). The IDEA authorizes the courts to award compensatory education as remedy to a special education student who is successful in his or her claim that a public school district deprived the student of a free appropriate public education (“FAPE”). For numerous years, school districts relied upon the two-year statute of limitations set forth in §1415(f)(3)(C) of the […]
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