New Special Ed Regulations Brewing at SDOE

The state Board of Education will soon consider a proposal for extensive amendments to New Jersey’s special education code, N.J.A.C. 6A:14. The amendments would bring the code into compliance with the 2004 reauthorization of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). However, all issues addressed by the state code can be amended, even when they are unaffected by the new federal law.

When the state Department of Education invited various stakeholders to share their thoughts about the re-adoption, NJSBA took that opportunity to discuss its concerns with DOE through meetings and letters. NJSBA’s comments to the most recent version of DOE’s draft code (“Pre-proposal”) can be viewed online.

The schedule calls for DOE to unveil its next draft on April 5, with May 5 as a tentative proposal date, and May 17 and June 21 as opportunities to provide written and oral testimony at state board meetings. NJSBA anticipates that its testimony will focus on maintaining district flexibility and paperwork reduction, while balancing the need to provide a free, appropriate public education to the state’s special education students.