Jersey City's special education system is failing. We’re organizing to fix it.
About Parents United for Special Education Reform
Parents United for Special Education Reform is a coalition of Jersey City families, taxpayers, and community members working toward a special education system that serves every child with a disability in this district with dignity, equity, and the education the law requires.
Something has gone wrong in Jersey City Public Schools. The same special education audit findings have appeared two years in a row. Public money is being mismanaged, affecting every taxpayer in this city, whether or not they have a child in the district. Families who ask questions at board meetings have been removed from the room. Public comment has been narrowed. The district continues to face lawsuits from its own employees.
Underneath all of that are children — children with IEPs and 504s, children who depend on the adults in this system to do their jobs. Some of those children are not getting the services they are legally entitled to. Some have been pushed out of the district entirely. All of them are losing something they cannot get back.
The educators and staff in JCPS classrooms are, in many cases, trying to do right by these kids without the leadership, resources, or accountability structures they need to succeed. This is a story about the Board of Education, the Special Education Department, and the Superintendent's office; the people whose job is to set the conditions for those teachers and students to succeed, and who are not doing it.
We are organizing because the children in this district deserve better, the taxpayers who fund this district deserve better, and the teachers working inside this district deserve better.
We believe Jersey City can have a special education system that works. We are here to build it.
Our Demands
FULL PROGRAMMATIC AUDIT OF THE JCPS SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT WITH ACCOUNTABLE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN
Interview parents, students, teachers, related service providers, child study teams, and administrators to better understand what’s happening on the ground.
Work toward reforming the department to better serve students, provide more equitable special education across the district, work collaboratively with parents, and meet or exceed FAPE.
COMPREHENSIVE EXTERNAL SEARCH FOR A PERMANENT JCPS SPECIAL EDUCATION DIRECTOR
Conduct a transparent, competitive search to identify a qualified leader with fresh perspectives, grounded in trauma-informed care and current best practices that presume competence. Hire a leader with a demonstrated record of building trust with families, supporting educators, and delivering compliant, high-quality services to students with disabilities.
CREATE A SPECIAL EDUCATION COMMUNITY ADVISORY COUNCIL
Establish a formal advisory council that gives parents and caregivers of students with disabilities a seat at the table.
It should have meaningful authority over district decision-making, from policy development and program evaluation to budget priorities, and should play a central role in overseeing the nationwide Director search. We deserve a genuine two-way conversation with district leadership, not presentations delivered at us.
Full Accountability Before Any Contract Action
The Jersey City Board of Education has scheduled a Special Board Meeting and Public Hearing on Superintendent Norma Fernandez's contract for July 16, 2026. Families across Jersey City have raised serious concerns about district leadership, including special education services, nonpublic school services, overcrowding, facilities, student safety, and public accountability. Most urgent is the reported special education audit that was referred to law enforcement and never released to the Board or the public.
A renewal says "we trust this leadership." Jersey City families do not.
Join us in calling on the Board of Education to reject any renewal, extension, or automatic renewal of the Superintendent's contract until after the BOE elections on November 3, 2026.
Sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/do-not-renew-extend-or-allow-automatic-renewal-of-superintendent-fernandezs-contract
In the Media
See how our work is making an impact
RESOURCES
Learn more about education rights for children with disabilities.
We are committed to systems change to provide a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to ALL students across Jersey City.
Jersey City Public Schools Special Education Stories
Within each story is a systemic issue — we’re here to disrupt the dysfunction.
My daughter’s school denied her constitutionally mandated education through a failure to implement the accommodations and modifications legally required by her IEP. In one meeting, her teacher expressed her belief that the responsibility for learning or failing should be placed on my daughter, a cognitively low autistic student. This attitude is clearly not aligned with the spirit and intention of the district’s special education program.
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I was told my son’s school principal, ‘Mom there is nothing we can do for you. Have you considered homeschooling?”
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For years, the district kept delaying meetings, evaluations, and documentation. We lost precious time during my daughter’s early developmental years when she should have been receiving supports at school.
During one incident, a behavioral issue at recess left her outside in the cold for over an hour while undertrained staff attempted to get her to come inside. We didn’t receive a phone call about it until the end of the school day, and we didn't receive any details.