Revised
special education rules get mixed
reviews
Jersey educators, parents and advocates
disagree on whether landmark federal act will better serve
kids
Friday, November 26, 2004 • BY JOHN MOONEY •
Star-Ledger Staff
For all the bipartisan spirit in Congress' renewal last
weekend of the nation's massive special education law, there
is little consensus in New Jersey on whether the changes in
the law will actually help the children it is meant to
serve.
The landmark Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
dictates much of the schooling offered the nation's 6
million students with disabilities, including about 225,000
in New Jersey.
Two years in the making, the act's reauthorization
changed many of the rules in how children with disabilities
are taught, disciplined and even classified.
Supporters cheered the eventual package as a "great
compromise" and an "across-the-board win," as it won votes
from both parties. President Bush is expected to sign it in
the coming weeks.
But in the classrooms and homes of special education
students, such agreement was far more fleeting.
Some parents and advocates worried that protections were
weakened. Meanwhile, school officials and educators said
they welcomed some changes but expressed concern over
escalating demands and costs.
For instance, one of the aims of the reauthorization was
to reduce the reams of paperwork schools and educators must
complete on a child's education. The final bill trimmed
demands that each step in a student's program be documented
and codified, down to each meeting notice and every
"short-term objective" in a child's lessons.
"It's all going to work a lot smoother, so kids can get
the programs," said Leonard Margolis, deputy superintendent
of Bergen County Special Services District.
But where educators might see fewer forms to fill out,
advocates see fewer protections for students and their
families.
"This is definitely a step backward," said Jennifer
Halper, a staff attorney for New Jersey Protection &
Advocacy Inc. in Trenton. "The short-term objectives are a
road map throughout the year, and that road map now will be
lost."
The recent changes were the first revisions to the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in seven years,
and some predicted radical changes in the law. A
presidential commission in 2002 called the system deeply
flawed, and some Republicans in Congress sought to
streamline the process.
But by most accounts, the final package was more
measured, and many said they were relieved that massive
changes are not in store.
"The final version was clearly the more moderate," said
Barbara Gantwerk, director of the state Department of
Education's special education office. "This doesn't remake
the law, I don't think ... nor do I think this is a law that
needed to be totally changed."
Some of the areas affected by the final package
include:
Discipline: Administrators wanted more freedom to remove
troublesome kids and prevent them from using their
disability as an excuse. The new bill offers some
flexibility and now requires parents contesting a
disciplinary action to show the disability is to blame.
Advocates say that's a dangerous obstacle for kids who may
suffer from emotional or behavioral disabilities.
"There's a lot more kids who will be kicked out of
school because of this," said Diana Autin of the Statewide
Parent Advocacy Network. "This basically puts the burden or
proof on the parents."
Dispute resolution: In New Jersey, disagreements between
families and schools over how a child is educated led to
more than 1,200 "due process" requests last year, more than
half of which end up in administrative court.
The new bill seeks to ease that conflict through a level
of mediation before due process. It also would allow schools
to recover attorney's fees from families who file what are
found to be "frivolous" cases.
Race: In New Jersey and elsewhere, minority students are
disproportionately identified as disabled and put in
separate classrooms or schools. The new bill would increase
enforcement to attempt to reduce the imbalances.
New Jersey has stepped up its monitoring and intervened
in about two dozen districts in the last four years,
officials said. Advocates welcomed more pressure.
"This is a place where New Jersey has had a problem, and
this will help," Autin said.
Teachers: Linked with the new No Child Left Behind Act's
requirements on teacher competence, the new bill further
demands special education teachers be properly certified and
proficient in the subjects they teach.
"I think it is right that we hold these teachers to the
same requirements as other teachers," said Gantwerk.
Once signed by Bush, the reauthorization likely would
take months to filter down to the classrooms, as new federal
and state codes still need to be revised.
A big question is whether there will be additional
federal funding for special education's fast-rising costs.
Under the initial IDEA, Congress agreed to pay 40 percent of
the nation's average per pupil cost toward special ed.
Almost three decades later, the federal share remains below
20 percent.
The reauthorization once again committed Congress to the
40 percent, this time by 2011. But few expected the promise
would be kept.
Daphne Gregory runs a program at Millburn High School to
provide disabled and general education students a chance at
job internships and other post-graduate opportunities.
She said the program is a success, and she was among
those who testified on behalf of such programs before
Congress' IDEA hearings last year.
But the costs of a full-time coordinator like herself is
something few districts can afford, and she wasn't
optimistic the federal government will pick up the
difference anytime soon.
"If that happened, I'd be absolutely thrilled, but I'm
not too sure it will," she said. "But without the money and
the personnel (for such transition programs), it's like
throwing a kid off a cliff."
John Mooney covers education. He can be reached at
jmooney@starledger.com or (973) 392-1548.
© 2004 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with
permission.
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