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Camden Students Denied Transfer

“Judge dismisses Camden parents’ request to move kids to better schools”
by Jim Walsh
Cherry Hill Courier Post
October 25, 2012

A state judge has declined to order immediate action on a bid by three parents to remove their children from the city’s troubled school system.

The students’ mothers, in legal papers filed with the state Department of Education, had argued their children suffered irreparable harm each day they remained in a Camden classroom.

But Administrative Law Judge Edward J. Delanoy Jr. said the mothers had not proved the need for immediate action.

As part of a 12-page ruling Tuesday, Delanoy said the parents’ petition offered “nothing beyond general statements” regarding the children’s academic performance and presented “no credible evidence” that the students needed to be placed in schools outside the district.

Delanoy’s decision detailed many shortcomings in the much-criticized district, where 23 of 26 schools are considered failing. It noted the schools attended by the three students — Pyne Poynt Middle School, and Dudley and Davis elementary schools — all are considered “in need of improvement” by the DOE.

But he added, “Mere allegations that tests have been failed and that performance is decreasing does not necessarily distinguish these students from any other student in the state who may also have failed a test and/or have worsening grades.”

He also noted the mothers were unlikely to prevail because they had not named “all indispensable parties,” including the suburban school districts “that might be ordered to accept these students.”

Attorneys for the mothers said they would now take their case to Education Commissioner Chris Cerf, who has 45 days to adopt, modify or reject the order.

“We are disappointed with the order because it requires (the children) to remain in schools that everyone knows are not fulfilling their mission of educating school children,” the lawyers, Patricia Bombelyn and Julio Gomez, said in a statement.

The attorneys said Delanoy’s decision, if it stands, “will mean that ZIP codes do indeed determine whether or not a child has the right to a thorough and efficient education in New Jersey.”