One Newark Enrolls: State Will Investigate Claim Against Charter School

The NJ Department of Education (NJDOE) has agreed to investigate whether Newark Prep Charter School failed to provide essential special education services to a student with disabilities for an entire year after the student was placed in the school through the “One Newark Enrolls” plan.

According to a release from the Education Law Center, which represents the student:

• On June 24, the Education Law Center filed a complaint with the NJDOE on behalf of the parent of D.S., a fourteen-year-old student classified under the disabling condition of Emotionally Disturbed.
• D.S. has an IEP requiring a behavioral disabilities program, a personal aide, and individualized counseling services.
• In 2014, D.S. signed up for One Newark Enrolls. D.S.’s family, allegedly provided with no information about the availability of the services contained in their child’s IEP in schools participating in One Newark Enrolls, selected Newark Prep Charter School as their first choice.
• D.S. enrolled in Newark Prep in September 2014, but by November it became evident he was making no progress, and his IEP was reviewed. D.S. was repeatedly suspended from school and accumulated 23 days of suspension by April 15, 2015. At that point, the charter school suspended D.S. for the remainder of the school year.
• During the course of the 2014-15 school year, two more IEPs were developed for D.S., in February and May. All of his IEPs continued to require placement in a behavioral disabilities program with a 1:1 aide and counseling services, but none of these IEPs were ever implemented. D.S. finished the school year receiving some home instruction and remains without a placement for the 2015-16 school year.

“We filed this complaint because the One Newark enrollment process assigned this student to a charter school unable to provide the services required by his IEP – services he needed to be successful in school – and the parent’s efforts to resolve this on her own were unsuccessful,” stated ELC Senior Attorney Elizabeth Athos.