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SOUTH BRUNSWICK: State association issues special education report

By Ed Birch, Special Writer
The Special Education Task Force of the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA) released its Task Force’s final report entitled Special Education: “A Service, Not a Place” at a conference held at Crossroads South Middle School on April 10.
   The report was released following opening remarks by Dr. Lawrence S. Feinsod, Executive Director of the NJSBA, John Bulina, President of the NJSBA, and Harry J. Delgado, Past President of the NJSBA and present Board of Education member of the South Brunswick school district.
   ”We are very thankful that the New Jersey School Boards Association chose South Brunswick to make this final report public,” Mr. Delgado said. “Our district, like all others values the work that the NJSBA does on behalf of the public education program in this state.”
   In the 11-page report, the Task Force lists 20 recommendations to improve special education programs statewide.
   The initial recommendation calls for educational authorities to seek early intervention to identify students with related issues as soon as possible in their educational careers.
   The Task Force also recommends that districts provide an improved staffing analysis to identify the use of related financial and human resources allocations.
   Increased-shared services have been recommended in the areas of regional service delivery, according to the report.
   Local initiatives, medical reimbursements, multi-government department cooperation efforts, and transportation issues were also included.
   According to the report, many districts listed “transportation issues as a concern” in 12.2 percent of the surveys of the participating districts.
   In the area of “Due Process,” 38 percent of districts responding to the surveys listed the adjudication process as an area requiring legislative and regulatory change.
   The Task Force also saw the need for improved funding resources.
   The panel recommended increasing the strategies presently being used to increase the overall funding levels for special education.
   In addition, the report asks for more reliable expenditure data, and adjustments to the federal laws defining the services needed to make such services to be considered “medical needs” rather than “educational needs.”
   Such a change, if approved, will make reimbursements the responsibility of health insurers, according to the report.
   In addition, the report recommends that a system be initiated to reward districts and schools that meet ambitious learning goals and models fairness.
   Professional Development increases would provide additional training to produce reductions in procedural and substantive errors, reduce legal exposure of the educational system, and preserve a working relationship between school districts, parents, and the children that they serve.
   The same additional training should also be provided to both board members and to district teachers, in the form pre-service learning. It is hoped that such training would be extended to teachers starting with kindergarten instruction years, according to the report.
   The study was funded through a grant from the Educational Leadership Foundation of New Jersey.
   The Task Force was composed of Chairman Dr. Gerald Vernotica, an Associate Professor from Montclair State University. He was assisted on the committee by Lynne Crawford of the South Orange-Maplewood School District, Sheli Dansky of River Edge Board of Education, Carol Grossi, Superintendent of the Hanover Park Regional School District, Dr. Leon Kaplan of the Lawrence Township Board of Education, Michael Lee of the Tabernacle Board of Education, Irene LeFebvre of Boonton Board of Education, Charles Miller of East Amwell, and Valerie Watson, School Business Administrator of the Newark School District.