State lags on special ed, study says

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Posted on Thu, Dec. 09, 2004

State lags on special ed, study says N.J. sends more special-needs children out of their districts than any other state, an agency reports.By Delli SantiAssociated Press

TRENTON - New Jersey buses more special-education students to classes outside their districts than any other state and classifies a disproportionate number of minority students as disabled, according to a state watchdog agency.

The findings are part of a report by the state Council on Developmental Disabilities, which blames the state for not doing enough to integrate special-needs children into regular classrooms.

"It isn't just a benefit for kids to be included in regular education environments with their peers, it's actually the law," said Richmond, deputy director of the disabilities council. "That law requires that to the maximum extent possible, children with disabilities must - not may, must - be educated in their neighborhood schools with all the necessary services and supports."

The report, released yesterday, is a follow-up to a 1994 study that found New Jersey fell short in almost every aspect of inclusive education. Although some progress has been made, especially in the number of special-ed students spending part of each day in general classrooms, the council titled its 2004 report, "Still Separate and Unequal."

Barbara Gantwerk, the state director of special education, said that "this report had information on issues that the Department of Education has identified as major issues. That was not new. But she acknowledged New Jersey's overreliance on separate education programs for the disabled, and said the state had dedicated training, grant funds and policy development to reducing out-of-district placements.

She also said that 91 percent of special-education students were schooled within their home district, and that most of the council's recommendations from 1994 had been implemented. "I felt they did not give a complete picture of all the work we are doing to address the issues we've already identified," she said.

About 240,000 New Jersey children are classified with special needs, ranging from autism and mental retardation to learning disabilities and physical handicaps. Of those, 19,596, or 8.8 percent, are schooled out of their district, about the same percentage as 10 years ago.

That's by far the largest percentage of students in any state. The national average is 2.9 percent in separate settings, and 36 of the 50 states reported having less than 3 percent of students out of district.

Perhaps even more discouraging, the report's authors said, was the state's record on minorities in special education. Almost one in four African American boys is identified as having a disability, and minority children are far more likely than white students to be educated separately, according to the report.

"African American children are as significantly overrepresented in special education today as they were in the 1990s," the report said. "Furthermore, they are actually underrepresented in preschool special education, reflecting an overall lack of early intervention and in-class support and services in racially and culturally diverse communities."

The report found that 41 percent of classified students of color drop out of school, nearly twice the rate of white special-ed students.