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SCOTUS Ruling Reinforces Educational Rights of Students with Disabilities

Posted on April 6, 2017

Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision Reinforces What School Districts Should Already Be Doing for Children Entitled to Special Education

Nina Peckman, Staff Attorney

Every day, I receive phone calls from worried parents trying to navigate the special education system for their children. Parents often struggle to be heard by their school districts to get the supports and services their children are entitled to, in order to make meaningful academic progress.

But on March 22, 2017, the United States Supreme Court made a unanimous decision that will help children with disabilities across the country. For the first time in 35 years, it addressed how much educational benefit is required for a special education program to be considered “appropriate.” In Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the Court ruled that a school district must provide an education to a student with disabilities that is “reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.”

What does this mean? The Court concluded that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which governs education for children with disabilities, requires schools to offer an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that is student-centered and substantially beneficial, with their unique needs and abilities in mind. Most important, an IEP must clearly enable the student to make meaningful academic progress.

Prior to this opinion, a number of courts had allowed school districts to meet its responsibility as long as the educational program provided “merely more than a de minimis” or minimal level of progress. This low standard is no longer sufficient.

This Court decision is a clear endorsement of the rights that already exist for New Jersey’s students with disabilities. Our state courts have long required that school districts meet a higher standard of education than many other states by requiring that an IEP provide significant learning and meaningful benefit to a student with a disability (Ridgewood Board of Education vs. N.E. for M.E. 172 F.3d 238 (1999)).

What does this legal decision mean for students with disabilities and their parents? The U.S. Supreme Court clarified and emphasized these important education rights:

  • Services that ensure meaningful academic progress. “A student offered an educational program providing ‘merely more than de minimis’ progress from year to year can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all.”
    The child study team must make sure that a student receives evaluations conducted by professionals with the necessary expertise, that school records clearly establish what progress has been made, and that all available records are carefully considered.
  • Parental input in the IEP. The law regarding the development of an IEP “contemplates that this fact-intensive exercise will be informed not only by the expertise of school officials, but also by the input of the child’s parents or guardians.”
    School staff and parents should know that parent involvement is crucial to the IEP process to enable the student to make progress. In order for a parent to have real input into the IEP, the child study team should help the parent understand the IEP process, child study team evaluation reports, the rationale for child study team decisions and the parent’s rights to challenge school district action and of course, take into account the parent’s observations and expert reports.
  • Development of challenging student objectives. An “educational program must be appropriately ambitious in light of [a student’s] circumstances,” and “every child should have the chance to meet challenging objectives.”
    The IEP should contain language that describes challenging objectives given the child’s circumstances and include services that are reasonable to enable a child to make meaningful progress.

The recent Court decision brings clarity to rights of students with disabilities and the role parents have in helping develop their child’s education program in school.

To read the full text of the opinion in this case, please visit https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/15-827_0pm1.pdf.

Nina Peckman, Esq. at ACNJ’s KidLaw Resource Center provides pro bono legal assistance to low income parents, caretakers, and also to professionals working with children. Legal services are offered in English and Spanish and include phone consultations, assistance at school meetings, participation at State Mediation, direct negotiations with school districts to resolve disputes, workshops, and the development of print materials regarding education law, advocacy strategies and practical tips. ACNJ does not litigate. Guides and facts are available on ACNJ’s website at www.kidlaw.org.

Another State Budget that Shortchanges Young Children

Posted on March 17, 2017

ACNJ Blog

Cecilia Zalkind photo
Cecilia Zalkind ACNJ President & CEO

Another State Budget that Shortchanges Young Children

The FY 2018 state budget, announced last month by Governor Christie, includes no increases for early education programs. True, it doesn’t cut our high-quality public preschool program, but for the eighth year in a row, it does not advance early education either.

A lot has happened in the last eight years. The more than 35,000 3- and 4-year-old children in the 90 or so school districts promised preschool beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, are about to enter seventh grade. Multiply that by eight years. Hundreds of thousands of kids have missed out on a strong start with the foundation of preschool. Who knows what opportunities these children may have lost?

Failing to  expand state-funded preschool is not the state’s only shortcoming. Child care subsidies, which help low-income families work, have not increased since 2008. Child care programs are struggling to cover the cost of doing business in 2017 when they are being reimbursed with the same  2008 rate. It has made child care less affordable and accessible for families. Programs are forced to reduce services or charge struggling families more just to cover their costs. Some families literally cannot afford to work.

It also affects program quality. When child care programs cannot afford to pay staff adequately, experienced teachers leave for better paying jobs.  Frequent turnover is not good for children who need stability to thrive.

It is ironic that while the state is committed to developing a child care quality rating and improvement system, it will not address the increased funding necessary to sustain programs. Funding for quality improvement through Grow NJ Kids is available for one-time needs. It does not include any increase to maintain quality once it is improved.

In April, ACNJ will release a report on the cost of child care quality, followed by another report about the availability of child care for infants. Both raise some urgent and compelling questions about who is caring for our babies.

As an advocate, it is hard to see another year go by without an investment in the healthy growth and development of our state’s youngest citizens. It is discouraging to see other states make critical investments in preschool and child care, and wonder, why not New Jersey? It is no longer possible to claim success just because early care and education programs are not cut or eligibility is not reduced. Flat funding is beginning to erode these programs.

We need to call attention to these issues as the legislature begins to debate the FY 2018 state budget. Pre-K Our Way is launching a new campaign calling for preschool expansion that will remind legislators about the children who continue to wait for preschool. The discussion of a new school funding formula is another opportunity to stress the importance of a strong start for future education success. And legislators must be reminded – again – that child care programs need adequate funding to provide accessible, affordable, quality care so that parents can work and young children can develop.

Our state’s budget woes continue. Money is short and obligations, like the pension funds, take a big chunk of the budget. But the budget needs to be about more than immediate needs.  It must be balanced with investments for the future too. And investing in children is one of the best steps we can take. The rate of return is great however it is measured.

Sincerely,

Cecilia Zalkind
President & CEO

Newark Kids Count report shows progress made, more work needed

Posted on March 16, 2017

For the roughly 68,000 children that call Newark home, improvements in key areas of child health and an increase in both preschool enrollment and high school graduation rates point to progress in the state’s largest city, according to the Newark Kids Count 2017, released today.

The annual data report by Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ), which tracks trends in child well-being in Newark, found a decrease in uninsured kids, births to teens and admissions to the hospital for asthma.

While this is encouraging, 70 percent of Newark children live in low-income households – compared to the state average of 32 percent, and 62 percent of families spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent.

“What’s also troubling is the limited child care options for working families,” said Cecilia Zalkind, ACNJ president and CEO. “With more than 7,300 Newark children receiving child care subsidies, it’s imperative that parents have access to reliable care, without having to worry about missing work or whether their child is well-cared for.”

Since 2012, the number of licensed child care centers in Newark declined dramatically, from 190 to 144, and the overall capacity fell by 11 percent. Fewer family day care providers are caring for children in their own homes, a decrease of 9 percent since 2012.

On the positive front, a significant increase in the New Jersey Earned Income Tax Credit from 20 percent to 30 percent in 2015 helped 22,000 Newark families with children receive an average credit amount of $950 from $620.

“Higher than average refunds mean more money in the pockets of Newark’s working families to help them make ends meet,” Zalkind said. “This was a welcomed boost, especially when you consider the high costs of raising a child in New Jersey.”

Some key Newark findings follow.

Health. In 2015, only 6.5 percent of Newark’s children lived without health insurance. As of March 2016, nearly 70,000 children received health insurance through NJ FamilyCare – a 26 percent increase from 2012.

Newark’s infant mortality rate rose to a rate of 11.6 in 2014, up from 8.6 the previous year. The city has consistently maintained higher infant mortality rates than the state,  but the disparities in infant mortality appear to have grown over the past two years for which data was available – 2013 and 2014.

Early Education. For the 2015-16 school year, 6,821 students attended full-day public preschool in Newark – a 9 percent increase from 2011-12 school year.

During this same period, kindergarten enrollment decreased for Newark’s district schools, but increased dramatically for its charter schools.  As a result, the overall public kindergarten enrollment increased by 13 percent for Newark.

Chronic Absenteeism. Newark’s rates of chronic absenteeism for the 2015-16 school year show higher rates of absenteeism for high school students at 48 percent, with 38 percent of ninth graders  and 59 percent of seniors chronically absent in Newark’s district schools. Newark’s K – 8th grade chronic absenteeism rate in district schools was 23 percent.

School breakfast. During the 2016-17 school year, 59 percent of Newark students in both district and charter schools started the day with a healthy morning meal at school.

Between the 2011-12 and 2015-16 school years, Newark’s charter schools saw their number of students qualifying for school meals nearly double. Enrollment in Newark’s charter schools increased substantially during this same time period, contributing to the charters’ notably higher numbers in school meal eligibility and participation. Still, while 83 percent of charter students eat lunch at school, fewer than half—46 percent—start the day with school breakfast, compared to 65 percent in Newark’s district schools.

Juvenile Arrests. Juvenile arrests decreased from 533 arrests in 2011 to 394 in 2015, in addition to the annual number of admissions to juvenile detention, although African American youths continue to be overrepresented in the detention population.

Access report.

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Advocates for Children of New Jersey is the trusted, independent voice putting children’s needs first for more than 35 years.  Our work results in better laws and policies, more effective funding and stronger services for children and families.  And it means that more children are given the chance to grow up safe, healthy, and educated.  For more information, visit www.acnj.org.  Follow ACNJ on Twitter @acnjforkids and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/acnjforkids.

KIDS COUNT® is a registered trademark of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Follow Annie E. Casey Foundation on Twitter @aeckidscount and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KIDSCOUNT.

Tackling Absenteeism in Plainfield: Early Childhood Taking the Lead

Posted on March 8, 2017

Behind every student absence is a story. Behind chronic absenteeism data are the daily challenges of teachers, families and children.
Peter Chen, Staff Attorney

As districts have taken action and recognized that student attendance is essential to student success, ACNJ has been invited to districts across the state to present chronic absenteeism data and strategies. During ACNJ’s visit to Plainfield’s early childhood directors’ and family workers’ meeting, educators told us about chronic health issues, irregular work and child care schedules, and inadequate transportation for young children to get to school.

My colleague Cynthia Rice and I call it our “traveling roadshow,” presenting ACNJ’s findings on chronic absenteeism to schools, professional groups, and parents across New Jersey. Chronic absenteeism (the rate of students missing more than 10 percent of school days) has become a core issue for ACNJ.

These trips serve two functions – one, to educate folks about the importance of improving school attendance with possible solutions, and two, to hear from people on the ground about successful strategies to get students to school every day.

In Plainfield, Early Childhood Programs Director Evelyn Motley saw the issue firsthand, noting that what the Plainfield preschool providers see eventually trickles up through the public schools. The district saw that attendance was a consistent issue and that excessive absences could be tamed by strategic effort.

The early childhood directors highlighted that preschool classrooms face additional hurdles in ensuring regular attendance:

  1. Dispelling “It’s just babysitting/day care.” We know how powerful high-quality preschool can be in helping kids succeed in elementary school and beyond. The evidence for the value of preschool is overwhelming. But for families, the link between story time and a lifetime of reading is less tangible.
  2. Small obstacles are bigger for young children. If a parent’s car breaks down, an older child may be able to take public transportation or walk to school on their own, while there is less flexibility with a 4-year-old. In addition, if a parent’s work schedule changes and he/she cannot acquire before-school child care for the youngest child, fewer care options are available to that parent. These small obstacles can become insurmountable for families in poverty, especially if they have young children.
  3. Little kids get sick. Health is often listed as the top reason why preschoolers and kindergartners miss school. But behind each “sick day” is a deeper story of a child’s health. Educators in Plainfield discussed the disconnect between schools and the health care system, as well as poor understanding by parents of when a child should stay home (such as experiencing high fever or vomiting) and when a child should still go (headache, seasonal allergies). (PDF flyer “When Is Sick Too Sick”)

Taking a look at its attendance numbers, Plainfield has put in place exciting new policies and practices to reduce absenteeism, including:

  • better attendance data-tracking and regular feedback to directors,
  • calls home from family workers after only two absences,
  • incentive programs for regular attendance, and
  • inclusion of attendance data in health, behavioral intervention, and teacher feedback.

ACNJ looks forward to seeing the results from Plainfield’s effort to give kids a good start with good attendance in preschool. The early childhood directors and family workers voiced a strong commitment to integrating attendance into all the work they do. This kind of strategic approach to addressing chronic absenteeism can help turn the curve and create a culture of school attendance throughout the district.

Cynthia and I always learn a lot from our absenteeism roadshow, and we’re heartened by the daily changes taking place throughout the state to tackle this critical issue.

Sincerely,

Peter Chen
Staff Attorney

NJ serves up more summer meals in 2016 Sites

Posted on March 7, 2017

Sponsors sought for 2017

New Jersey Department of Agriculture data show that New Jersey communities served up summer meals to nearly 84,000 children on an average day in July 2016 through three federal summer meals programs. That means an average of about 4,700 more children received a summer meal each day, translating to 6 percent increase over July 2015, according to a report by Advocates for Children of New Jersey.

In addition, the number of sites where children living in low-income communities could receive a meal increased 21 percent from 1,113 in 2015 to 1,351 in 2016, according to state data.

Read release.

Read report.