Special education is an important issue, affecting every school in our state. In fact, concerns about special education issues were discussed frequently in New Jersey United’s most recent series of community meetings. During our community meetings, participants recognized the importance of finding the right educational approach for special education students. However, opinions were divided on whether special education students should be “mainstreamed,” included in the overall student population, placed in an out-of-district facility addressing their needs, or included in an in-school program.

Issues including the benefits of inclusion for special education students and discipline challenges were discussed at length. Attendees of New Jersey United community meetings also questioned the practice of requiring special education students to meet the state’s education standards at grade level. In light of these new requirements, many called for the allocation of additional resources for special education students.

Helpful Links:

Information for students with disabilities and New Jersey’s assessment program. http://www.state.nj.us/njded/specialed/sas_brochure.htm

The State of New Jersey Web page for the Office of Special Education. http://www.state.nj.us/njded/specialed/

A yellow page listing of resources for children with disabilities in NJ. http://www.yellowpagesforkids.com/help/nj.htm

Wright’s Law is a Web site for legal and advocacy issues for children with disabilities. http://www.wrightslaw.com/

The Web site for United States Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21. http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html?src=mr

The Web site for the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities. http://www.nichcy.org/

This page from the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities provides a list of resources for disabled New Jersey youth. http://www.nichcy.org/stateshe/nj.htm

The special education information page from Education Week. It provides an overview of the issue and an archive of relevant Education Week articles. http://www.edweek.org/context/topics/issuespage.cfm?id=63

Information from specialednews.com, an online resource for special education news. http://www.specialednews.com

A document from the Education Law Center on the rights of disabled students as pertaining to educational services in New Jersey.
http://www.special-ed-law.com/Cases/rights_spec_ed_gde.pdf

A PowerPoint presentation on NCLB requirements for special education students from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at the U.S. Department of Education. http://www.state.nj.us/njded/specialed/info/nclb_idea_files/frame.htm