BOE services for Jackson kids

amother

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 2:44 pm

Hi! My son is lagging a bit in development, and he’s aging out of early intervention. His therapists feel like he should continue getting services (speech, ot, pt) although he’ll likely catch up soon and should be fine. Everyone involved including his current morah in a mainstream playgroup where he’s mostly keeping up but missing some skills, feel like he’d do amazing in Stars. However, I live in Jackson so that doesn’t seem to be an option. What do I do? Moving back to lakewood isn’t an option as I am very established in my Jackson home and have a large family.

amother

Lotus

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 3:03 pm

Contact your local board of ed and go from there. They must have some familiarity at this point. There are so many observant jewish families already.

amother

Phlox

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 3:10 pm

I don't know how it works with stars. You can ask stars if they have any experience with it. They are obligated to do an eval and if your child qualifies they will offer placement in the Jackson school district. (I know nothing about it they will allow you to then take a non public placement like starts but stars should. Also, does stars still have space this year)
They are not easy to get other placement from, I know someone with a very involved child who they are giving a very hard time and a lot of grief insisting that their blatantly inappropriate placement is an appropriate option.

amother

Ghostwhite

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 3:10 pm

Unfortunately it's common knowledge that Lakewood families get better services bec all these programs are in district.

Let's hope these places can open a branch in Jackson/Tom River which would help residents tremendously.

amother

Olive

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 3:33 pm

I was told by Stars that they were leaving some slots for Jackson kids. Keep in mind that they will still need an Special Ed IEP in order to be accepted into Stars, and that might be more difficult to get from Jackson BOE than Lakewood BOE. You should definitely calls Stars tom and im sure they can give you more info.

amother

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 4:55 pm

amother Olive wrote:

I was told by Stars that they were leaving some slots for Jackson kids. Keep in mind that they will still need a Special Ed IEP in order to be accepted into Stars, and that might be more difficult to get from Jackson BOE than Lakewood BOE. You should definitely calls Stars tom and im sure they can give you more info.

Ok thanks! He has an evaluation scheduled at Jackson preschool but wasn’t sure how to navigate. Thanks for the info! If anyone did successfully get a Jackson kid into starts please share!! So overwhelmed but want to help my son…

amother

Lightgreen

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 8:59 pm

Hi OP,
I went through the process with my son. My son ultimately didn't qualify for an IEP but if he would have, I think he could have gotten into stars. Let me know if you have any questions. If you want to PM me, I can take myself off anonymous for a little...

amother

Phlox

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 10:03 pm

Just so you know, to go to stars from Lakewood you also need to qualify through the boe so that is the starting point in any case

amother

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 10:48 pm

Thanks for all your replies. My son does have a Jackson Boe eval in two weeks. I was just wondering what the process is like…

amother

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 10:49 pm

amother Lightgreen wrote:

Thanks I’d love that!

amother

Phlox

Sun, Nov 26 2023, 11:48 pm

amother OP wrote:

Thanks for all your replies. My son does have a Jackson Boe eval in two weeks. I was just wondering what the process is like…

The process should be similar across districts - an initial meeting to discuss your concerns and what evals they will do, the evaluations that were recommended and a follow up meeting to discuss eligibility and recommendations

theoretical62

Tue, Nov 28 2023, 1:04 am

amother OP wrote:

Thanks I’d love that!

Hi OP,
Sorry for the delay. Hope you see this post and pm me.

amother

Junglegreen

Sat, Dec 02 2023, 10:50 pm

I looked into this, it is not simple to get the Jackson BOE to approve you to send to a special Ed school in Lakewood. Many people go through options like BrainBuilders which bills insurance instead of through the BOE

amother

Tealblue

Sat, Dec 02 2023, 11:09 pm

amother Junglegreen wrote:

I agree with looking into a program that bills insurance. But you need an ASD diagnosis I believe.

amother

Sat, Dec 02 2023, 11:33 pm

amother Tealblue wrote:

I agree with looking into a program that bills insurance. But you need an ASD diagnosis I believe.

Thanks! My child clearly isn’t ASD just a bit behind. Very socially and emotionally appropriate… I doubt I’d be able to get a diagnosis and honestly wouldn’t feel comfortable with trying…

amother

Dodgerblue

Sat, Dec 02 2023, 11:46 pm

if your child qualifies , you can definitely push for stars. my child is there now and has jackson kids in his class. they did not fill up their classes yet this year so it can be a great choice for you!