Assembly Panel OK’s Burden of Proof Bill

Assembly Panel OK’s Burden of Proof Bill

Legislation that would place the “burden of proof” in special education cases on school districts passed the Assembly Education Committee May 14.

The bill, A-4076, would circumvent a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In Schaffer vs. Weast, the court held that the burden of proof “is properly placed upon the party seeking relief”—a prevailing concept in American law. In special education challenges, the party seeking relief is usually the student’s parents.

Significant Protection The Supreme Court decision noted that parents have significant protection, including—the right to an independent evaluation of the child; the ability to review school records; and the right to require a school to state the rationale behind its decisions in writing. It also expressed concern that placing the burden of proof on schools could result in districts allocating limited resources to litigation.

The Supreme Court’s ruling overturned a 1989 New Jersey decision that placed the burden of proof on school districts anytime parents challenged a student’s individual education program. The Supreme Court, however, did not preclude states from passing new legislation that would put the burden of proof back on school districts.

The proposed New Jersey legislation, A-4076, resulted from a recommendation by Ronald Chen, the state’s public advocate. Chen told the committee that placing the burden of proof on parents could disenfranchise those without the financial means to argue their children’s cases in court.

Inordinate Burden Mike Vrancik, NJSBA director of governmental relations, asked the committee to withhold action on the bill until its educational and financial impact could be assessed. He noted that data related to the issue is expected to come from a pending NJSBA research project.

Need Performance Standards “NJSBA has long advocated appropriate, effective education programs for students with special needs,” he explained.

“We oppose the bill based on the premise that it would, without any qualification, assign the burden of proof to districts,” said Vrancik. “We suggested to the committee that there are many cases that could be resolved within districts if commonly accepted performance standards were identified.”

Special Ed Study Last fall, NJSBA launched a major research project to address procedures concerning individual education programs; to identify educationally effective special education programs; and to recommend needed changes in law.

Based on the findings, NJSBA may make further recommendations to the Legislature.

Local Involvement NJSBA’s Legislative Committee is also seeking information about local district experiences related to the burden-of-proof issue. Contact Barbara Horl, lobbyist, at (888) 886-5722, ext. 5225, or bhorl@njsba.org, with any information.

Status A-4076 might be referred to another committee, rather than to the full Assembly. The Senate Education Committee has yet to consider the upper house version of the bill, S-2604.