[NFBNJ] Call To Action NJ Supreme Court Seeks Parents Feedback On Opinion 56

[joe ruffalo]

Greetings to all!
Please review the following important message.
Please forward to others.

Joe

---
From: Disability Rights New Jersey <advocate at drnj.org>
Sent: Monday, November 9, 2020 4:30 PM
To: richardfox1 at comcast.net
Subject: 👉 Call To Action: NJ Supreme Court Seeks Parent Feedback on 
Opinion 56



      Plus, Join Us November 12 for Virtual Town Hall on Special Education

















                                New Jersey Supreme Court Seeks Comments

                                On Role Of Non-Lawyers In Special Education


















                                 Greetings!



                                If you are a parent of a child who receives 
special education services, your ability to fight for your child might be in 
danger because of a recent opinion from the New Jersey Supreme Court’s 
Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law (Committee). However, you can 
stop the opinion from taking away your ability to fight for your child by 
writing to the Committee by November 16, 2020.



                                The Committee released Opinion 56 on 
September 30, 2020, that makes it more difficult for advocates who are not 
lawyers to help special education students in Individualized Educational 
Program (IEP) meetings and mediation conferences. Opinion 56 states it would 
be unethical for non-lawyer advocates to “represent” students or “speak on 
their behalf” in IEP meetings and mediation conferences.



                                Opinion 56 would harm students with 
disabilities because there are not many free and low-cost legal services 
available to help parents navigate the special education process. Over the 
years, non-attorney advocates have helped parents - many of whom do not have 
strong educational backgrounds or even speak English - in IEP meetings and 
mediation conferences that can be frightening. The fear of violating Opinion 
56’s unclear language would discourage the use of non-attorney advocates, 
thus giving school districts another advantage over parents.












                             As a result of protests, the Committee 
suspended Opinion 56 to allow for the public to make comments on its impact 
until November 16, 2020. If you want to submit your comments based on your 
own experiences as parent and/or advocate of a student with disabilities, 
you may mail them to:



                            Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law

                            Attention: Carol Johnston, Committee Secretary

                            Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex

                            PO. Box 970

                            Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0970



                            If you prefer, you may e-mail your comments to 
Comments.Mailbox at njcourts.gov instead. Please understand that no comments 
may be submitted anonymously.

                            Should you have any questions or concerns, 
please do not hesitate to reach out to Disability Rights New Jersey at 
advocate at drnj.org.






                              Email Your Comments Directly To NJ Courts














                  More on Special Education for Children









                  DD Network Partners Virtual Town Hall:

                  Focusing on Children with Disabilities

                  Thursday, November 12th 7PM to 8PM











                 Virtual Town Hall Will Address:



                        ·     Remote, hybrid, and in-person special 
education services

                        ·     Available community-based and in-home services

                        ·     Day care or child care options

                        ·     Other issues raised by the participants


                                Register for Town Hall Here








                        We want to hear your thoughts on what is working for 
your family and any obstacles you have faced through the pandemic, so we can 
be guided in our advocacy by the very people we aim to support.













                  Send Us Your Questions In Advance





                  If you have questions or concerns you would like us to 
address during the Virtual Town Hall, please send them in advance to:



                  questions at drnj.org



                  Please note that this email is specifically for questions 
and comments for our virtual town hall only. Any priority issues that would 
normally go through our intake process should still be directed to our 
office line at: 1-800-922-7233                  About DISABILITY RIGHTS New Jersey











                 DRNJ serves as New Jersey’s designated Protection and 
Advocacy system empowered by Congress to provide legal and non-legal 
advocacy services for people with disabilities in New Jersey.



                DRNJ is supported by the U.S. Department of Health & Human 
Services, Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; 
Center for Mental Health



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