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P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI |
NEWS RELEASE CONTACT: Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NJSBA Supports Boards on Special Education Complaint Trenton, April 26, 2007 - The New Jersey School Boards Association this month filed a brief as amicus curiae (friend of the court) challenging a recent special education regulation as an unfunded state mandate. At issue is a code provision that reduces, from four years to three, the age range of children who could be placed in the same elementary-level special education classroom. Five school districts have filed complaints before the state Council on Local Mandates, arguing that the regulation violates the 1995 amendment to the state Constitution prohibiting new unfunded mandates. The districts contend that the new code provision, which comes without state funding, has no educational validity, is not required by federal special education policy, and will increase costs. NJSBAs brief, filed April 19, counters arguments made by the state Attorney General, who disputed the local school districts complaints. The reduction in the permitted age span exacerbates the dire financial situation that school district already face in meeting their obligation to educate students, states NJSBA as amicus. Tuition No Factor The attorney general had stated that county special services school districts have the ability to increase tuition to cover the additional costs. He also said that fact saves the regulation from being an unfunded mandate. (Four of the five original complainants are special services districts.) According to NJSBA, however, the attorney generals argument does not consider the financial impact on other local public school districts that pay tuition to county-based schools or which provide their own programs. Furthermore, NJSBA contends, the 1995 Constitutional amendment requires authorization of funds to offset expenditures that result from implementing the new regulation. No Federal Requirement In addition, the new code is not necessary for the state to receive federal funding through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or the No Child Left Behind Act. Rather, NJSBA argues, it is an unnecessary state mandate since New Jersey has discretion over meeting federal standards under these laws. Public Sector Impact According to NJSBA, the code requirement also does not affect government and non-government entities the same way. Having a different impact on the public sector than on the private sector is a criterion used to identify an unfunded mandate. In this case, public schools must absorb the expense resulting from the regulation. In comparison, private schools, which most students attend through placement by public school districts, can simply recoup the added costs by increasing tuition charged to public school districts. No date has been set for oral argument in the matter.
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