From The Capitol: New Rules Would Allow Easier Access to Medicaid Funds For Special Education Services
Proposed changes to federal rules around Medicaid billing could make it easier for schools to pay for certain special education services. Currently, schools can bill Medicaid for health-related services in a student’s IEP, such as speech, occupational and...
From the Courts: NY School District To Pay $1.55 Million For Denying ABA Therapy
A New York school district has settled a lawsuit that claimed school staff failed to provide a student with autism their proper resources and care. The case went to trial and settled for $1.55M. The plaintiff’s family sued the North Syracuse Central School...
The Right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education
Common Ground is committed to informing families and guardians about parental rights and special education advocacy. In this and upcoming editions we will share a series of basic and important special education topics on the rights, responsibilities, administrative...
From the Courts – High Court Sides Unanimously for Student with Disability Regarding Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies
The U.S. Supreme Court in March ruled unanimously that a deaf student may pursue his lawsuit for monetary damages against a Michigan school district that allegedly failed for years to provide him with adequate sign language assistance. The court held that a procedural...
From the Capitol – Governor Proposes Continued Increases to Funding for Extraordinary Costs
The Governor’s 2023-24 proposed Budget includes $420 million of extraordinary special education aid to reimburse districts for special education “extraordinary” costs. This represents a 5% increase from the $400 million in fiscal year 2021. Over the most recent...
Paying for Special Education
Less than 50 years ago, students in the United States with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, dyslexia, and other conditions were routinely turned away from school because of their disabilities. Today, they are entitled to a free and appropriate public education....From the Capitol: Bill Could Expand Timeframe to File for Compensatory Education in NJ
A bill now on the governor’s desk would give families extra time to apply for compensatory special education services if their child with disabilities experienced learning losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current statute of limitations to file for full...From the Capitol: Flurry of New Laws Signed by Governor Murphy Address Issues in Special Education
Tracking Discipline and Reporting – S-1020 was signed, requiring New Jersey school districts to collect and report data on suspension and other disciplinary actions. Each district must now collect and report school-level demographic breakdown of students who...
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and How it Affects Learning
Auditory processing is a neurological communication between the ears and the brain that is responsible for helping us make sense of what we hear. In auditory processing, the brain must identify the incoming sounds and make an analysis of those sounds and attach...NJCommonGround.org, and the Common Ground E-newsletter are projects of the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities
.
.
- The Right to a Free and Appropriate Public Education
- What to Do if You Suspect Your Child has a Disability Impacting Their Education
- Initial Special Education Evaluations and Eligibility
- The Individualized Education Program (IEP)
- Special Education Placement
- Q&A: What are Extended School Year (ESY) Services?
- Q&A: Dispute Resolution