Cherry Hill Public Schools is battling with a group for parents of special education students about information tables at back-to-school night.
The Cherry Hill Special Education PTA, known as CHSEPTA, said it has sponsored tables at district schools at the beginning of the school year for 12 years, but the request was denied this year by Superintendent Kwame Morton.
It has filed a grievance with the nine-member school board after unsuccessfully lodging an appeal with Morton. The group has alleged discrimination by the district for refusing to allow an independent group to set up a table.
“This is a clear-cut case of discrimination,” said Jennifer Naddeo, president of CHSEPTA. “Our families that have children with special needs need to have their own table with representation as well.”
Naddeo said her group educates parents about their rights, offers assistance to help them get their children evaluated for services, and makes sure that individualized education plans, or IEPs, are followed. The group, which has about 400 parents on its mailing list, also brings in experts to speak, she said.
The Cherry Hill school district, which enrolls nearly 11,000 students, has a parent-teacher association at each of its 18 schools as well as a Zone PTA, an umbrella group. It also has a special education advisory group, required by the state for every public school district.
In a statement, the district said it “continues to review and strengthen procedures across the district to ensure greater consistency among our schools.”
It said districtwide organizations like the special education PTA will coordinate a table with Zone PTA. Naddeo said that process has not been followed previously and her group had not been notified of any changes in procedures.
“This approach provides a clear and consistent process for participation while continuing to support opportunities for parent organizations to connect with families throughout the district,” the district’s statement said.
Naddeo said her group, which has about 80 dues-paying members, is a separate nonprofit and should not be required to seek permission from another group. The grievance asked the board to overturn Morton’s decision.
About one-fourth of Cherry Hill’s students are classified as special education and have IEPs, according to Naddeo. Others have a 504 plan that accommodates disabilities. Cherry Hill also sends some students to a school or specialized program outside the district because the student needs services the district cannot provide.
Cherry Hill Board of Education President Gina Winters told the special education PTA that the board lacked the authority to review an administrative decision by the superintendent.
Peg Kinsell, policy director of the SPAN Parent Advocacy Network based in Newark, said the dispute was troubling. Naddeo’s group has a reputation as an active advocacy group for special education, she said.
“I don’t know why you would want to put barriers in front of families getting information,” Kinsell said in an interview this week. ”I can’t figure out what the big deal is.”
Naddeo said her group missed a back-to-school night held this week at Joyce Kilmer Elementary School because it was not given permission to have a table. The school PTA groups are geared toward general education students, she said.
“When your child is struggling, you want to be represented,” Naddeo said.
She said the group plans to set up information tables next month outside the Cherry Hill library and during the township’s Harvest Festival on Oct. 18.