New Jersey Special Education Code, N.J.A.C. 6A:14
The State Dept will be opening up the code to revise certain section. Some of the revisions in the code do not properly reflect IDEA.
If you have any comments on the code, this is going to be the time that you can have your say again. We will keep you informed by posting
on the website as to when the hearings will take place. You can look up the website, www.state.nj.us/njded/code, for all information on the
current and pending code rules. Keep yourself informed as to what is going on and what will affect your job.
Please click on the following for the guidance from the DOE on the code and the clarification letter from the DOE on Preschool Child with a Disability.
DOE letter on Preschool Child with a Disability clarification
DOE Guidance with Respect to State and Federal Regulations Implementing
the IDEA of 2004
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Pension & Health Benefits Legislation
On December 14th A-16/S-8 had been revised to the point where NJEA had objection to three remaining provisions. They are, proposed reduction in the
incentive that can be offered for individuals to waive duplicate health coverage, elimination of coordination of benefits in the State Health
Benefits Program for married couples or domestic partners who qualify for coverage both as an employee and a dependent, and a new optional program
for employees with less than 10 years of service and new hires to elect to participate in a defined contribution plan as opposed to a defined benefits plan.
NJEA and CWA are working on a bipartisan basis to move amendments in the Assembly that would remove these three remaining objectionable provisions.
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Final Federal Regulations for IDEA 2004
Last summer, NJASLS, along with NJSHA, ASHA and more than 5,500 other organizations and individuals, submitted comments concerning the proposed
federal regulations for the implementation of IDEA 2004, published on June 21, 2005. The final regulations were published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2006, and will take effect on October 14, 2006.
Here is a summary of several changes to the regulations that may be of interest to NJASLS members. For a more complete summary of the new regulations, as well as a copy of the full regulations, go to
www.wrightslaw.com/idea/law.htm, or
www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html.
A number of changes were made in the proposed regulations concerning eligibility determination for specific learning disabilities (SLD). Perhaps most important for NJASLS members is that in Section 300.308
the eligibility group for a child suspected of having SLD must include “at least one person qualified to conduct individual diagnostic examinations of children, such as a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist,
or remedial reading teacher.” This restores the language of the current (1999) regulations in place of the proposed regulation that did not list SLP, but included educational therapist among “other professionals, if appropriate.”
Limited English Proficiency has been added to the list of conditions in Section 300.309 that could account for a child’s learning problems and that must be considered in determining whether the child has a SLD.
Section 300.310 specifies that the child must be observed in the child’s learning environment (including the regular classroom setting) to document the child’s academic performance and behavior in the areas of difficulty during routine classroom instruction.
The new regulations (Section 300.34) make clear that the local school district is not responsible for providing, maintaining or replacing implanted medical devices, such as cochlear implants. Optimization of implanted medical devices
(for example, “mapping” of cochlear implants) is specifically excluded from "related services" provided by local districts. The local district is responsible for routine checking of hearing aids and the external components of surgically implanted devices –
for example, to see that the device is turned on and functioning properly (Section 300.113). Likewise, the new regulations clarify that, while optimization is not a covered service, a child with a cochlear implant must be provided with the supports and services
(such as speech therapy or an FM system) necessary for the child to benefit from special education "as determined by the child's IEP team."
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