EDUCATIONLAWCENTER DISABILITYRIGHTS STATEWIDEPARENT

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ADVOCATESANDSTATEOFNEWJERSEYSETTLEFEDERALLAWSUITTO
ENSURESTUDENTSWITHDISABILITIESRECEIVEANAPPROPRIATE
EDUCATION

Newark, NJ, February 20, 2014 Nearly seven years after the lawsuit was filed, and

more than five years since the District Court denied the States motion to dismiss,

disabilityadvocatesenteredintoanhistoricsettlementwiththeNewJerseyDepartment

ofEducationtoensurethatNewJerseystudentswithdisabilitiesreceiveanappropriate

educationintheleastrestrictiveenvironment.

Countless children with disabilities who were inappropriately segregated and

deniedtheirrighttoaninclusiveeducationwillnowbeeducatedalongsidetheirpeers
whodonothavedisabilities,tothemaximumextentappropriate,saidattorneyDavid

L.HarrisofLowensteinSandler,whichhandledthecaseonaprobonobasis.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit included Disability Rights New Jersey (DRNJ), the

EducationLawCenter(ELC),theStatewideParentAdvocacyNetwork(SPAN)andthe

ARCofNewJersey.RepresentationwasprovidedbyattorneysfromDRNJ,ELCand

thelawfirmsofFreeman,Carolla,Reisman&Gran,andToddWilson,LLC,alongwith

LowensteinSandler.

The lawsuit cited New Jerseys failure to implement the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which requires the provision of a free and

appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment to all eligible

students. The plaintiffs alleged that children were inappropriately and unnecessarily

sent out of district and denied inclass aids, services and accommodations needed to

receiveanappropriateeducationinthegeneraleducationclassroom.

Joseph Young, Executive Director of DRNJ, commended the settlement, noting

that the benefits of inclusion are vast and include improved language development

andreadingskills,highergrades,higherscoresonstandardizedtests,largerfriendship

networks,improvedattendanceandhigherselfesteem.

Nondisabled children also benefit from inclusion: they perform substantially

better in reading and mathematics than their counterparts educated in segregated

environments, and they demonstrate social and developmental benefits, including

improvedunderstandingandrelationshipswithchildrenwithdisabilities,saidDiana

Autin, Executive CoDirector of SPAN. The winwin of improved education for all

students was also touted by Thomas Baffuto, Executive Director of the ARC, while

Judith Gran, Esq., extolled the role of advocates in the Settlement, and Todd Wilson,

Esq., pointed approvingly at the provision in the Settlement mandating training of

DepartmentofEducationstaffbyahighlyqualifiedindependentparty.
 TheSettlementincludes:

aNeedsAssessmenttobecompletedbythe75+schooldistrictswiththe

worsttrackrecordininclusion;

district site visits by the Department of Education, including classroom

observationsandstaffinterviews;

extensive training and technical assistance for district staff, and regular

assessmentofthetrainingsandtechnicalassistance;

trainingofstatecomplaintinvestigators;

speciallydesignatedstateandlocalinclusionfacilitators;

annualcompliancemonitoring;

parentalinputregardingdistrictfailurestoappropriatelyincludestudents

withdisabilities;and

oversightbyastakeholdercommitteecomprisedofdisabilityadvocates.

TheadvocatesarehopefulthatthiscarefullycraftedSettlementwillresultina

vast improvement in New Jerseys placement of children in the least restrictive

environment an area where New Jersey, for decades, has trailed the rest of the

nation, said Ruth Lowenkron, Senior Attorney at the Education Law Center.

Inclusion is not only the law, its whats best for children and its also more cost

effectiveinthelongrun,andoftenevenintheshortrun,Lowenkronadded.

The Settlement became effective upon the judges February 19, 2014 signing of

theOrder,andimplementationwillbeimmediate.

PressContacts: RuthDealeLowenkron,EducationLawCenter,9736241815x21
DavidL.Harris,LowensteinSandler,9735972378