Judge rejects parents’ request to halt move by Bergen County special services school
Thursday August 22, 2013, 4:52 PM
BY KIBRET MARKOS
STAFF WRITER
The Record
A judge on Thursday declined to temporarily stop the relocation of a county-run school from Rockleigh to Ridgewood, denying a petition by the parents of a 19-year-old autistic student who said the move would disrupt the teen’s education.
Elizabeth and Fred Dabies filed a lawsuit earlier this week in state Superior Court in Hackensack, arguing that the New Bridges program, which taught 60 disabled students at a Rockleigh campus last year, planned the move without evaluating their son’s individual education plan.
The lawsuit claims that the school did not follow proper procedure in announcing the move and in notifying parents. It also said the Ridgewood facility is not safe for the Dabies’ son, who has a history of running away and might end up on a busy street near the Passaic Avenue building.
The Judge made the right decision in this case. Ridgewood is the proper location.