A state education panel says New Jersey needs to move away from the thought of public education as two separate systems for general and special education.
The public education system is one unit that includes a continuum of interventions, programs and services that respond to the individual needs of the student, according to education officials who came together last month at Crossroads Middle School North in South Brunswick to discuss a report by a special education task force of the New Jersey School Boards Association (NJSBA). The 120-page report, “A Service, Not a Place,” includes recommendations for local school boards. “The goal is to reduce special education costs to local school districts without diminishing the quality of needed services,” NJSBA Executive Director Lawrence S. Feinsod said of the project undertaken by the task force. “There is a dire need to develop strategies that will maintain quality services without negatively affecting resources for general education programming.”
Gerald Vernotica, an associate professor at Montclair University, chaired the task force, which also included six members of local boards of education, a superintendent and a business administrator. The group received support from John Burns, counsel; Barbara Deveney, executive assistant to general counsel; Frank Belluscio, NJSBA deputy executive director and director of communications; and John Bulina, NJSBA president.
The team began its work in January 2013 by reviewing the state’s current process for funding and providing special education services, studying other states’ methods of financing and delivering special education, identifying cost-efficient strategies to deliver special education, and exploring alternative methods of funding.
The task force consulted with more than 25 experts in special education, including representatives of higher education, key personnel in the U.S. and New Jersey departments of education, and special education advocates and practitioners.
The group deliberated over strategies that would enable schools to control costs while still meeting their obligation to provide a free and appropriate public education to all students. The task force surveyed the literature on the delivery and financing of special education services, and explored options that focus on academic achievement.
The NJSBA released its final report after the task force spent more than a year researching, collecting data and consulting with experts.
The report includes 20 recommendations addressing early intervention, literacy, shared services in regional delivery incentives, local initiatives, Medicaid reimbursement, eliminating impediments, transportation, improved district- and statelevel data collection, and changes in state and federal funding.
The recommendations include:
Early intervention: The state should develop a multitiered system of supports, such as Response To Intervention, Intervention and Referral Services or a comparable model that provides free access to materials and technical assistance to ensure fidelity in the alignment to the common core curriculum.
Funding for literacy: The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act should allow greater flexibility in the use of funds for supplemental literacy and math programs in more inclusive settings.
Funding for effective strategies: In an effort to improve student outcomes and determine adequate funding, the state should identify the resources, programs and delivery models that contribute to improved student performance. In addition, the state should provide technical assistance and funding to promote the implementation of the delivery models.
The task force recommended that members of local boards of education receive training that includes exposure to the legal, fiscal and programming aspects of special education to help promote the achievement of all students in their districts.
NJSBA officials said the recommendations are for boards of education to review and eventually adopt in their districts.
For more information, call the NJSBA at 609-695-7600 or toll-free 888-88NJSBA. Contact Kathy Chang at [email protected].