A group of families is asking a federal judge to order New Jersey schools to return to in-person learning in order to best serve their special needs children. The request is the latest chapter in a lawsuit filed by the families of the advocacy organization Brain Injury Rights Group, in October. Attorneys for the families argued that the loss of in-person schooling is a violation of the Individuals with Disability Education Act. There are more than 237,000 special education students in New Jersey, with thousands of those in districts that have recently returned to remote learning. Nearly a third of New Jersey public and charter schools have been operating remotely this week. But that means the vast majority of schools are trying to make in-person classes work, even with mounting staff shortages.
So how are they trying to make it work — and is it just a matter of time before most schools are remote again?
