On June 16, 2021, Governor Murphy signed S-3434 into law.
This law recognizes that the pandemic caused significant interruptions in services for students with disabilities and provides for extended eligibility. However, additional services are not guaranteed, as the student’s IEP team must agree that they are necessary. This potential extended eligibility applies to students who turned 21 in the 2020-21 school year and who will turn 21 in the 2021-22 or 2022-23 school years. If your child is within this group and you believe he or she needs additional services, do not accept a diploma. You should also document how the pandemic has affected your child. Did it affect access to transition services? Was virtual instruction not beneficial? Did your child lose skills? If you believe your child needs an additional year of special education services, contact the Child Study Team and ask for an IEP meeting. Be prepared with documentation from service providers who work with your child that support your request for additional services. If the IEP team does not agree to an additional year of service, you can challenge that decision through mediation or a due process hearing, just as any other IEP team decision.
Need more information? Contact the attorneys at Reisman Carolla Gran & Zuba LLP, www.rcglawoffices.com, by email or at 856.354.0021. Our attorneys are working hard to ensure continuity of services and to protect our children now more than ever.