Special Education Law in NJ
The problem with our public schools in New Jersey
The New Jersey Constitution requires that “the legislature shall provide for the maintenance and support
of a thorough and efficient system of free public schools for the instruction of all children in this State
between the ages of five and eighteen years.”
Joseph Gannon understands NJ education laws and is passionate about ensuring that students get the educational programs and services school districts are legally bound to provide. He believes that the public education system often denies the necessary services, programs, and funding for students that need them the most.
Attorney Joseph Gannon's extensive experience as an educator, the knowledge he gained while earning his doctorate in educational leadership and his law degree, and his experience as an education lawyer licensed in New Jersey and New York have provided him with a unique understanding of the public school system and the legal rights of students.
Mr. Gannon has authored an extensive paper from the perspective of a former teacher, principal, student, and now practicing attorney titled "New Jersey Public Schools: An Inefficient System of Public Education." The paper outlines what he has concluded, after extensive research, the main problem with the New Jersey Public School System: the lack of a thorough, efficient, and equitable public school funding formula. Mr. Gannon has concluded that the root of most conflicts between concerned parents and the local school districts is money, and this is because of the inefficient allocation of school district funds in an inefficient system of public education.
If you have NJ education law issues, such as school disciplinary, discipline, suspension, expulsion, violence, zero tolerance policy and law issues – Please contact us today!
Child-centered legal advocacy for students with special needs
N.J.A.C. 6A:14-1.21 requires that a free appropriate education be available to all students with disabilities between the ages of 3 and 21, including students with disabilities that have been suspended or expelled from school.
For children with special needs under age three, the Department of Health and Senior Services is the lead agency for implementing the New Jersey Early Intervention System (NJEIS). The system is responsible for making certain that children with developmental delays or disabilities and their families receive the services that they need.
The parents of children with special needs are often overwhelmed with day-to-day life and the demands of providing for and supporting their children. Sometimes the public institutions that should serve as systems of support for children with special needs fail to serve as support systems, and instead, serve as sources of resistance, frustration, and conflict for parents. More times than not, money is the reason for the conflict.
Attorney Gannon advocates on behalf of children with special needs to make sure public institutions do what they are legally bound to do and provide the services they are legally required to provide.
Eligibility for special education and related services
New Jersey Public Schools are required to provide special education and related services for children between the ages of three and 21 if they are determined to fall into one or more of the following categories:
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Contact Education Law Attorney Joseph Gannon today
For help protecting and promoting the legal rights of your child, contact Joseph Gannon today.
Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
School districts are required to develop and implement Individual Education Programs for all children eligible to receive special education or related services. School districts are required, among other things, to do the following:
- Make a free and appropriate education available to eligible students no later than the child’s third birthday.
- Make certain that Individual Education Programs are based upon the unique needs of each student and not on the student’s disability.
- Ensure that students with disabilities are educated in the least restrictive environment.
Common Issues Resulting in Conflict Between School Districts and Parents
Inappropriate Individual Education Programs
Parents are naturally concerned that their children with special needs are receiving an appropriate education and related services while some school districts, because they do not allocate money in a manner that funds children based upon the unique needs of those children, are more concerned with keeping costs down and fail to make certain that Individual Education Plans are based upon the unique needs of students.
Attorney Gannon has concluded that until school districts begin to allocate resources according to individual student needs and not according to the number of teachers and programs at any particular school, conflict will naturally arise. This issue is outlined in Attorney Gannon’s paper, "New Jersey Public Schools: An Inefficient System of Public Education." Attorney Gannon is available to advocate for your child if your child’s school district has failed to develop an appropriate Individual Education Program based upon your child’s unique needs.
Failure to Educate Students with Special Needs in the Least Restrictive Environment
Historically, children with special needs were isolated from the general school population and placed in very restrictive environments. Unfortunately, some school districts still ignore their legal obligation to educate children in the least restrictive environment because it often costs money to ensure children with special needs are able to develop socially, emotionally, and intellectually in the least restrictive environment among their peers.
If you are concerned because your child’s school district has proposed to educate your child in a confined and isolated resource room as opposed to the least restrictive environment, Attorney Gannon is available to advocate for your child.
“Because We Said So”:
Some school districts and administrators still take a very authoritarian position and attitude that they alone know what is best for your child. Some school districts come to IEP meetings and present concerned parents with a “take it or leave it” attitude concerning proposed Individual Education Programs.
If you are not satisfied with the Individual Education Program offered by your child’s school district, you have the right to request mediation or a due process hearing.
Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary process designed to resolve disputes between parents and school districts when there is a disagreement concerning the identification, evaluation, classification, or placement of a child.
Attorney Gannon is available to advocate for your child and support you through the mediation process.
Due process hearings
Due process hearings are administrative hearings conducted by administrative law judges. As with mediation, a due process hearing may be requested when parents and school districts disagree concerning the identification, evaluation, classification, or placement of a child.
Attorney Gannon is available to advocate for your child and support you through due process hearings.
Early intervention programs
Eligibility
A child under the age of three is eligible for early intervention services if he or she has at least a 33 percent delay in one and/or at least a 25 percent delay in two or more of the following developmental areas:
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Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
An Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) is a written document that identifies services and support needed for children with developmental delays and their families.
Mediation
Parents have a right to request mediation to resolve disagreements concerning the identification, evaluation, assessment, eligibility determination, or the delivery of early intervention services for children with developmental delays and their families. Mediation is a non-adversarial process designed to resolve conflicts to the satisfaction of all parties involved.
Attorney Gannon is available to answer questions pertaining to the mediation process as it concerns early intervention.
Due process hearings
Parents have a right to a due process hearing to resolve disagreements concerning the identification, evaluation, assessment, eligibility placement, or delivery of early intervention services for children with developmental delays and their families.
If you are planning ot file for a due process hearing, Attorney Gannon is available to help.
Autism and Asperger’s syndrome
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every 150 eight-year-old children in multiple areas of the United States had autism spectrum disorder in 2007. The statistics in New Jersey are even more alarming, with some reports citing one out of every 94 children suffering from autism spectrum disorder. Many schools and school districts in New Jersey are not prepared to provide an appropriate education to these children.
As a principal, Attorney Gannon saw the number of children with these developmental disabilities increase dramatically and worked diligently to provide those children with the least restrictive and most appropriate education possible. Unfortunately, not all schools and districts have been as flexible and willing to adapt. He is proud to serve as an attorney and advocate for children when they are not getting an appropriate education.
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and Verbal Behavior
Research has shown that children who have been diagnosed on the autism spectrum and receive applied behavior analysis (ABA) and verbal behavior (VB) services at a young age make significant educational progress as opposed to their autism spectrum peers who do not receive such services. Unfortunately, many school districts are shortsighted, penny-wise and dollar foolish, and fail to acknowledge the benefits of or fund ABA and VB services. Attorney Gannon is available to help advocate for children on the autism spectrum.
Bullying
Your child has a legal right to receive an appropriate education. An appropriate education does not include being bullied in school, on his or her way to and from school or the bus stop, at the bus stop, or on the school bus.
If your child is the victim of bullying, call Attorney Gannon. He is available to help.
NJ School Suspension/Expulsion Hearings
In order for NJ schools to function, schools must be able to institute disciplinary policies, discipline action and consequences for inappropriate behavior. Great legal deference is given to school administrators concerning discipline law; however, your child is not without legal rights. As a school administrator, Mr. Gannon participated in thousands of disciplinary hearings involving suspension and expulsion policies, school violence law, and disciplinary action issues.
Attorney Gannon is available to provide you with information concerning NJ school suspension and expulsion policies, zero tolerance school policy, discipline law - and your child’s rights and, if appropriate, will advocate on behalf of your child.
Young adults
Sometimes even the most intelligent teenager can do very stupid things. Mr. Gannon understands school violence law in NJ - whether it is a speeding ticket, other motor vehicle violation, or criminal offense, a teenager’s poor judgment, or lack there of, can have serious, long-term financial and legal consequences.
Attorney Gannon is available to advocate for your teenager.
Child support and arrears
If you are struggling financially because you are not receiving court-ordered child support from the other parent of your child/children, you have the option of filing a Motion to Enforce Litigant’s Rights.
If you need assistance, Attorney Gannon is available to help.
Domestic violence
When children are the victims of, or witness, domestic violence, the potential long-term negative psychological effects on them are serious and alarming. N.J.S.A. 2C:25-19a defines domestic violence as the occurrence of one or more of the following:
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Protect your children and protect yourself. Attorney Gannon is here to help.
Adoption
Agency adoption occurs when the child to be adopted and parents are brought together by a licensed agency. The agency screens the adoptive parent(s), takes the surrender of the child, and supervises the placement.
Non-agency adoption, also known as private or independent adoption, occurs when surrender of the child to be adopted is made directly to the adopting parent(s) with agency supervision being made.
Step-parent adoption is a unique form of non-agency adoption that takes place when a step-parent desires to give the step-child the same rights and responsibilities he or she would have if they were born to the step-parent as a result of the marriage to the biological parent.
If you desire to adopt a child, Attorney Gannon is available to provide assistance.
Your life and your children
Nobody likes to think about one of the only certainties of life--death. It is disconcerting how many parents have never considered what would happen to their children if they were to meet an untimely death. With whom would the children live? How would the children be provided for? Would the children be able to go to college?
Execute a will, for the child's sake!
If you need assistance drafting and executing a will that will make certain your children are provided and cared for the way you would want if you were no longer here, Attorney Gannon is available to help.
Child-centered divorce
As NJ Education Law Attorney Gannon writes on page 3 of his paper, "New Jersey Public Schools: An Inefficient System of Public Education",“two topics that have a high probability of causing people to become highly emotionally charged are their money and their children.” When married couples with children decide that divorce is inevitable, they are forced to make decisions that can adversely effect both their finances and children.
When emotions run high and unchecked, logic and reasonable behavior often take a back seat to those emotions, and when that happens, children often suffer.
The traditional adversarial approach to divorce can cost couples enormous amounts of money, create a tremendous amount of stress, and lead to results where neither party is satisfied with the results of adjudication.
Divorce mediation can serve as an alternative and less distasteful approach to divorce than the traditional adversarial process. Parents who make the conscious decision to put their personal differences aside to make certain that they do what is in the best interest of their children can work with a mediator to reach agreements concerning the following:
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If you and your spouse have decided that divorce is inevitable, and have consciously decided that you want to make the best out of a very bad situation and do what is in the best interest of your children, Attorney Gannon can serve as a neutral third party mediator to help you and your spouse reach fair and equitable agreements concerning your divorce.
Contact Joseph Gannon today - NJ Education Law
For help with protecting and promoting the legal rights of your child, contact Joseph Gannon today.
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