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State’s Inability to Eliminate NJ Special Education Hearing Delays Results in Special Master Appointment

Former NJ Supreme Court Justice Jaynee LaVecchia to Serve as Special Master

On May 5, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey approved an Amended Consent Order in the C.P. v. NJDOE class action case. This order increases court supervision over the State following the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) failure to fix its broken special education dispute resolution system within 18 months of the original Consent Order. The most significant change is the appointment of a Special Master – a neutral, independent court-appointed official with the power to seek orders from the district court – to oversee NJDOE’s compliance with federally-mandated hearing time frames going forward. 

The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that states operate a due process hearing system that resolves special education disputes within 45 calendar days of receiving a case, unless specific extensions of time are requested by a party and granted by a hearing officer. New Jersey parents initiated the C.P. litigation in 2019 because NJDOE’s system, which relies on Administrative Law Judges at the NJ Office of Administrative Law (NJOAL) to conduct special education hearings, has long been plagued by extensive delays. To resolve the litigation, the State agreed in 2024 to achieve a 95% compliance rate with the 45-day rule, but its inability to do so necessitated further relief from the court. This settlement agreement was approved by the court as the original Consent Order.

The newly approved Amended Consent Order affects the rights of the Rule 23(b)(2) class: people who have filed, or will file, a special education due process petition with the NJDOE, and whose petition is pending with NJOAL while the court’s oversight of this case is ongoing. The court approved the parties’ request to appoint the Honorable Jaynee LaVecchia (Ret.), a former Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, as Special Master. In appointing the Special Master, the Court found that “the Amended Consent Order [appointing a Special Master and awarding other relief] provides relief that is purely beneficial to the 23(b)(2) class, escalating rather than compromising the relief previously approved.” 

The Special Master’s role will include:

  • Working with the parties to develop a plan designed to achieve 95% compliance with the 45-day hearing timeline;
  • Submitting that compliance plan to the court for adoption as an enforceable order;
  • Reporting to the court at least every four months on the NJDOE’s progress;
  • Recommending additional orders if the NJDOE is not making required progress;
  • Conducting random reviews of cases – particularly those involving unrepresented parents – that have not been scheduled for a hearing within 45 days;
  • Responding to inquiries from Rule 23(b)2) class members related to violations of the 45-day timeline through a dedicated email address: 45days@doe.nj.gov.

The amendments to the original Consent Order include the following additional protections for class members:

  • Pro se (unrepresented by counsel) parents and guardians will receive a new litigation guide to help them navigate the due process system. The guide will be provided at the time of filing a case and posted on NJDOE’s website.
  •  Prehearing conferences will be automatically recorded in cases where parents are unrepresented. Upon request, recordings will be available at no cost. This is currently in place as a policy, but inclusion in the Amended Consent Order makes the policy enforceable.
  •  The NJDOE will fund a full-time NJOAL employee to maintain and report data on pending cases to the NJDOE, Class Counsel, and the Special Master.

“Class Counsel will continue to work zealously to ensure that New Jersey’s due process hearing system is remedied on a structural level to comply with the 45-day timeline,” said Elizabeth Athos, Education Law Center attorney serving on the Class Counsel steering committee. “The addition of Justice LaVecchia as Special Master, with the increased enforcement powers in the Amended Consent Order, will supercharge our efforts.”

“We strongly encourage parents to report timeline compliance issues to both the Special Master and Class Counsel,” said Catherine Reisman, lead attorney for the Class Counsel team.

The class is represented by Catherine Merino Reisman and Judith Gran of Reisman Gran Zuba LLP; Elizabeth Athos and Jessica Levin of Education Law Center; David Giles of the Law Office of David R. Giles; Denise Lanchantin Dwyer of the Law Office of Denise Lanchantin Dwyer LLC; and Jeffrey Wasserman and Gregory Little of Wasserman Little LLC.

Additional information about the lawsuit and settlement is available on a website operated by the Class Counsel.

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Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240