Bill on Governor’s Desk Permits Davy to Crush Morris School for Autistic Kids
Senator Anthony R. Bucco (R-Morris) called upon Governor Corzine to veto legislation (A-45), that would prevent the State Board of Education from acting as a check on the powers of the Commissioner of Education in disputes arising under state law.
“The bullying suffered by the Kentwood Academy at the hands of an uncaring Department of Education speaks volumes on why the governor should veto legislation that gives the commissioner a blank check when it comes to settling school-law disputes,” Bucco said. “If the State Board of Education was not able to act as a check on the powers of the commissioner, the Kentwood Academy would have lost its accreditation and dozens of autistic and disabled children would have been made to suffer in the name of bureaucratic intransigence,” Bucco said.
Kentwood Academy, a state-approved, private school, offers educational and therapeutic services to students whose learning and emotional needs are beyond that which traditional school settings can offer. According to media reports, the school was informed in May that its State approvals to receive students from public school districts would be revoked due to the school’s alleged inability to demonstrate a minimum average daily attendance of 24 students. Student sampling showed an average of 22.8 students, although the school now has 30 students.
“The bill that is sitting on the Governor’s desk would permit the commissioner to revoke state approval for the Kentwood Academy over the objections of the state Board of Education,” Bucco said. “The Kentwood Academy is doing a heroic job helping children whose needs are not being met by the public education bureaucracy, and the Commissioner of Education should be supporting Kentwood, not trying to run them out of business.”
“If the Commissioner of Education is so eager to exercise power, she can start by reining in the outrageous spending abuses of the Abbott school districts, or looking for the billions in stolen and wasted school construction monies that were squandered on the Democrats’ watch.”
Link to Post:
http://www.senatenj.com/index.php/bucco/bucco-veto-doe-commissioner-power-grab/597
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