State Settles Lawsuit Over Time Delays in Special Education Hearings

State Settles Lawsuit Over Time Delays in Special Education Hearings

A class action lawsuit brought by parents against the New Jersey Department of Education has ended in a settlement agreement with the goal of reducing the amount of time families are waiting for their due process petitions to be litigated.  For school districts this means that, if the efforts are effective, due process litigation will move more rapidly.  Side effects to this new time pressure could mean that the state will hire more Administrative Law Judges and provide more training in special education law.  It could also mean that cases are more rushed resulting in less well reasoned decisions that may need to be appealed. 

In C.P. v. New Jersey Department of Education, a group of parents, many of whom had been waiting over 300 days to get a decision on their due process petition, sued the state in federal court for violating the “45 day rule”.  The parents alleged that the state was violating federal and state regulations, 34 C.F.R. § 300.515(a) and N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.7(j), that require the Office of Administrative Law to hear and render a decision on due process petitions within 45 days absent specific adjournments sought by the parties. 

Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the court will appoint a Compliance Officer to oversee an 18-month trial period for the state to correct systemic delays.  The state has 18 months to obtain a 95% compliance rate with the 45-day rule or the class members will be able to file for contempt.  This may result in more extensive court intervention. 

Notably, this decision does not impact a school district’s ability to seek an adjournment where needed.  Both federal, 34 C.F.R. § 300.515(c), and state, N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.7(j), law specifically provide for a tolling of the 45 days where either party seeks and is granted a specific adjournment.