There are many parent committees and activities that you can choose to participate in as a parent of a child with disabilities in Pemberton Township School District. If you are interested in participating in any of the following committees or activities, please reply to specialservices@pemb.org.

Interested in more Parent Involvement Opportunities?

 Email Holly Corsanico at hcorsanico@pemb.org if you would like to help coordinate Special Education Week, Parent Trainings and more.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that school districts protect the rights of children with disabilities. Whenever the parents of a child are not known, cannot be located after reasonable efforts, or when the child is a ward of the court, a surrogate parent must be appointed. Both school districts and juvenile courts in the state have the authority to appoint surrogate parents when needed. In addition, parents themselves, or children who have reached the age of majority, may request the assistance of a surrogate parent.

Surrogate parents are individuals appointed to act in place of a parent to participate in making special education decisions for a child. The surrogate parent acts as a substitute parent in special education by:

- Representing the child in all matters related to the identification, evaluation, annual IEP, and educational placement of the child.
- Protecting the special education rights of the child.
- Learning about the child's disability and understanding the special education needs of the child.
- Representing the child in all matters relating to a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

The surrogate parent does not have any rights and responsibilities for the child beyond involvement in special education processes. An individual appointed as a surrogate parent must meet the following criteria:

- The individual must have the knowledge and skills to ensure that the child is adequately represented in decisions about special education
- The individual may not be an employee of the school district or the Department of Education.
- The individual must not be an employee of any other agency involved in the education or care of the child, except of non-public agencies that provide only non-education care for the child.
- The individual must be free of any other interest that conflicts with the child’s interest.

Anyone interested in becoming an educational surrogate (an individual who ensures that the rights of a student are protected and assumes all parental rights according to N.J.A.C. 6A:14) please call 609-893-8141, ext. 1012. Training will be provided.