TRENTON – The Senate passed a bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz that would create greater transparency and parental involvement in the special education process.
“The annual opportunity for parents to review a student’s Individualized Education Program with their support team is a critical moment to evaluate a child’s learning goals, progress, and the services in place to support their growth,” said Majority Leader Ruiz (D-Essex/Hudson). “By providing parents with information in advance of an IEP meeting, they can come better prepared to engage, ask questions, and address concerns. This approach promotes greater transparency and strengthens collaboration between parents, educators, and administrators, bringing them together in their shared goal to support children’s success.”
The bill, S-3982, would require a school, no less than two business days prior to the annual review of a special education student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), provide the student’s parent or guardian with a written statement of the student’s current academic and functional performance, a list of any IEP team members who cannot attend the meeting along with their input, and an invitation for the student’s parent or guardian to provide feedback concerning the services proposed in the student’s IEP.
The bill also establishes the Individualized Education Program Improvement Working Group in the Department of Education to provide recommendations to the department regarding methods to improve the development and implementation of IEPs and to ensure parental involvement in the process. The working group would issue a report including its recommendations no later than four months after organization. This report would include the differences in practices used in different school districts within the state for the development and implementation of IEPs, research or other academic evidence of best practices on how to develop IEPs, and potential legislative, regulatory, funding, or other improvements to the State’s IEP process, among other recommendations.
The bill passed in a 39-0 vote.