In defense of special education funding and the honorable treatment of our children

Fight Autism,
Not Children with Autism!

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Press Release

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Resources
IDEA
NCLB
Cherry Hill Public Schools

Statistics
NJ Public Schools Autism Prevalence Report

National Institute of Health's Autism Spectrum Disorders

CDC's Autism Community Report: Prevalence of Autistic Spectrum Disorders

A padded closet was discovered in a Cherry Hill Township School.   This picture does not lie, but apparently school officials do!   When asked about this room parents were told a variety of lies that led to further investigation. In the weeks that followed more lies were revealed. Read more about this by clicking here.

View additional photos here

With the support of KYW 3, NBC10, the Courier Post Newspaper, the Autism Blog (Courier Post),  and the Cherry Hill Sun -- parents quickly got the word out about this horrific discovery.  Since then, the NJ Student Advocacy Union, Autism Vox, numerous web boards, chat rooms and blogs have repeated the story and bolstered support for our children. 

After numerous attempts by parents, the Special Ed PTA, and SEA to resolve the many problems that plague our Special Education Department in Cherry Hill, SEA has called for the termination of our current Director of Special Education.  

This is not only because a padded closet was being used to discipline special needs children; but rather because under the current leadership, an overwhelming number of Cherry Hill's children with special needs have been denied critical programs, supports and therapies that are essential for them to participate in the public school setting.  

The current administration has set the stage for these issues by cutting more than one million dollars from the special education budget over the last two years, creating a culture where children with special needs are treated like second class citizens.  

SEA has sponsored a petition to implement the changes necessary to improve the situation for ALL of Cherry Hill's children.  Please click the banner below to read and sign the petition.  

Petition: Cherry Hill's Shame

Autism now affects 1 in 94
children in NJ!
*Source: CDC Study, "Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders"

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to Review Report