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The district also agreed going forward to provide proper notification — via postal correspondence or e-mail — to all students with disabilities regarding graduation ceremonies and other special events, and to notify the students’ case managers as well.
It will also provide staff-wide training in the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), with a particular emphasis on how the LAD relates to student participation in events and activities, cting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said this morning.
“This settlement represents a fair and just resolution to an unfortunate situation,” Hoffman said.
“This case wasn’t simply about allegations of disparate treatment,” he said. “It was about a young, disabled student having the same chance as her non-disabled schoolmates to take part in an especially well-deserved youthful rite of passage.”
The girl was diagnosed with a disability known as Cri Du Chat 5P Minus Syndrome. The syndrome is caused by a chromosome abnormality and is characterized by significant intellectual disability and delayed development, Hoffman said.
As a result of her condition, the student receives all of her educational services in a special education classroom, where she receives occupational, physical and speech therapy, and is accompanied by a licensed practical nurse, he said.
As is true of many students with disabilities, Hoffman said, the student has an Individual Education Program developed by a team of education and other professionals that includes a designated case manager. The team meets regularly to discuss the student’s goals and current progress, and sets goals for the following year.
On Feb. 28, 2012, the student’s Individual Education Program team held a meeting that was attended by her mother. At that meeting, it was determined that the girl’s current placement at an eighth-grade level was appropriate and would remain for the following year.
However, in April 2012, an evaluation known as an Alternative Proficiency Assessment was conducted for the student, leading Secaucus school officials to designate her a ninth-grader.
(In cases of students with significantly impaired communication skills and cognitive ability, educational performance assessments do not follow the same guidelines as assessments for other students. Instead, an Alternative Proficiency Assessment is used to measure the student’s progress toward achieving New Jersey State Educational Standards.)
Although her classroom teacher was made aware of the change, her mother wasn’t, Hoffman said.
In June 2012, as the date for the annual Secaucus Middle School graduation ceremony neared, her mother received a high school enrollment form to fill out on behalf of her daughter.
It confused her, given that she didn’t know about the girl’s promotion from eighth grade.
The mother telephoned the middle school seeking an explanation but didn’t get a return call until after the graduation ceremonies, Hoffman said.
Although the school district blamed the situation on misunderstanding and miscommunication, the disabled student’s mother maintained that comments made to her by certain school staffers after the graduation suggested her daughter was deliberately excluded, he said.
The mother told the Division her daughter’s exclusion was particularly troubling because the student’s grandmother, who has since passed away, did not get to see her graduate.
As part of the settlement, the girl was invited to participate in the 2013 Secaucus Middle School graduation ceremony, which took place in June, but her mother declined.
Under terms of the settlement, the Secaucus school district makes no admission of wrongdoing or liability, Hoffman said.
Deputy Attorney General Megan Harris and Investigators Agnes Roncaglio and Ana Limo-Magras handled the case for the state.
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