The Education Law Center (ELC), together with co-plaintiffs New Jersey Protection & Advocacy, Inc. (NJP&A), the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of New Jersey (SPAN), and The Arc of New Jersey, won a major victory this week by surviving a motion to dismiss for lack of standing and failure to state a claim in New Jersey Protection & Advocacy, Inc., et al. v. New Jersey Department of Education, et al. ELC, which is also counsel for the plaintiffs along with NJP&A and the law firms of Lowenstein Sandler PC and Loughlin & Latimer, filed the action a year ago against the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), the State Board of Education and the NJDOE commissioner, after unsuccessful attempts to negotiate a settlement.

The complaint  charges that the defendants violated both the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by systemically placing students with disabilities in segregated, disabled-only classrooms. For years, New Jersey has had the worst record in the nation in complying with the IDEA and Section 504 mandates to educate students with disabilities in the "least restrictive environment," alongside their non-disabled peers.
 

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Unless stated otherwise all meetings at 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM at the North Brunswick Municipal and Community Complex, 710 Hermann Road, North Brunswick, NJ 08902.

This meeting is held in compliance with Section 705 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act 1973, as amended, and is in compliance with the N.J. Open Public Meeting Act, NJSA 10:4-6.