Special Needs Students Forced From Hillsborough Prom, Parents Say

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A group of special needs students and their guests at the Hillsborough High School prom saw their night end early, leaving the East Brunswick Hilton Hotel with tears in their eyes, their parents say.

Now, their parents are demanding answers.

School district aides serving as paid chaperones at the May 17 prom told a group of seven students to leave prom before the 11 p.m. curfew, despite the school’s mandate that no one was to leave early, the parents say.

“There’s been no apology, no reason was given, and we have no understanding of why the district broke its own rules,” said Katherine Trusky, whose daughter was one of the students asked to leave early. “There is no excuse for them to be forced to be forced out. It’s nonsensical.”

Trusky said none of the parents were told their children would be coming home early. The parents are calling for the immediate dismissal of these aides, a public apology, and special education training for all remaining district aides, among other damages.

She detailed the incident in a recent post on Hillsborough Patch. Read more: Special Needs Students Ejected From Senior Prom

School officials said they may be looking into the matter.

"The Board has policies specifically prohibiting discrimination against students based upon their disabilities and other protected categories as set forth in the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination,” Hillsborough Public School District Superintendent Dr. Jorden Schiff said in response to the post. “Therefore, whenever such an allegation is made, the board ensures that its administrators investigate the allegations and that they take such action as is appropriate to address the issues.

"It cannot, however, comment on the results of such investigations, or any actions taken, due to privacy rights of both students and staff members. Even though the Board cannot provide additional information on this issue, please know that it takes such allegations very seriously, does not condone discrimination of any kind, and remains committed to providing all students with the opportunity for an excellent education."

Trusky said the district has done nothing to this point. The parents recently made appearances before both the Board of Education and the township council to state their case.

In the post, Trusky details the protestations of the students as they were forced to leave prom at 10:40 p.m., even though the official end of prom was 11:30 p.m. All the students in the group are classified as special education students or neuro-typically developing students.

Trusky explains that the students were confused by the change of the time. One student, Luke Myers, attempted to explain that they were supposed to leave at 11:15 p.m., and tried to use his phone to contact the limo driver, Trusky said. She said the aides demanded that he hang up his phone, and when he refused, they called security and had all the students escorted out.

When Emily Valentino, a neuro-typically developing student, protested, she was told, “I’m the adult and you’re leaving,” Trusky said.

“Julie Lashen went back to the table crying,” Trusky said. “She said, ‘we’re not leaving,’ and ‘this is wrong.’”

Lashen read a letter at the township council meeting.

"Me and my whole group of friends were being discriminated against,” Lashen said. “We were the only ones leaving at 10:40. It was both embarrassing and humiliating."

Trusky wrote the post in conjunction with the following families, who are all parents of the students directly involved in the situation:

• Veronica and Marty Mayes;
• Ken Doyle;
• Lynn and Dave Lashen;
• Deborah Myers-Eisenberger;
• Jeffrey Eisenberger;
• Debbie Hansen;
• Donna and Mark Mazzeo; and
• Lisa Valentino