By John Worthington, Esq., Coordinator of Special Education Law, Foundation for Educational Administration
As school districts begin the 2025-26 school year, staff need to be aware of changes to education laws in New Jersey. One such change is a new law enacted on July 22, 2025, governing annual review individualized education program (IEP) team meetings. While the law does not go into effect until the 2026-2027 school year,[1] districts should familiarize themselves with it and develop procedures to implement its requirements during the current school year. As the article discusses, the law makes several changes to pre-IEP team meeting procedures and notice requirements, as well as creating an IEP improvement work group. In relevant part, the law provides:
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
- a. Not less than two business days prior to the annual team meeting concerning the review of an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for a special education student, the public school shall provide the student’s parent or guardian with a written statement of items to be discussed at the meeting. The written statement of items shall be delivered to the parent or guardian by regular mail and, if the school maintains the parent’s or guardian’s email address on file, by electronic mail.
- The written statement of items required pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall include:
(1) the student’s current levels of academic and functional performance;
(2) a list of the names of any required IEP team members who are seeking excusal from participation in the IEP team meeting, accompanied by any excused IEP team member’s input with respect to the programs and services for which the member is responsible. The list provided pursuant to this subsection shall be in addition to any requests for consent for excusal that are included with the notice of the IEP team meeting date and participants that is provided in accordance with federal and State law and regulation; and
(3) an invitation for the parent or guardian to provide input and feedback as to the programs and services proposed in the student’s IEP.
- a. There is established in the Department of Education the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Improvement Working Group. The purpose of the working group shall be to provide recommendations to the department regarding methods to improve the development and implementation of IEPs and to ensure parental involvement in the process.
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While the terms of the law appear innocuous at first glance and are in fact are not a significant deviation from what IDEA and State regulations already require, there are provisions that will require changes in procedures for school districts. Preparing the present levels of academic achievement and functional performance (PLAAFP) is a task that must occur prior to IEP meetings to set a baseline and develop goals at the meeting, and prior written notice and consent are mandated to excuse a required IEP team member from an IEP meeting. The significant changes made by the law necessitate that the PLAAFP and written input from mandated IEP team members who the district seeks to excuse from the meeting be prepared and provided several days prior to the IEP team meeting.
This is because the law mandates that the parent receive these materials two days prior to the meeting by regular mail and email if it is available. To accomplish this, school districts will need to mail the documents at least five days prior to the IEP meeting date to presume receipt two days prior to the meeting.[2] Taking into consideration scheduling difficulties considering that a parent and district must determine a mutually agreeable date for the IEP team meeting, which does not always happen quickly, and the fact that the need for excusal can arise a short time prior to an IEP meeting, adhering to these statutory mandates becomes more daunting. Likewise, these changes essentially mandate provision of necessary information from teachers and providers and completion of the PLAAFP several days prior to the scheduled meeting, which creates logistical considerations for the case manager to acquire and compile the needed input from district staff in time to mail the mandated information to the parent prior to the scheduled meeting date. The same holds true for the input from any mandated IEP team member whom the district seeks to excuse from the IEP team meeting.
The NJDOE sent guidance for implementing the provisions of the law on August 6, 2025. In it, the NJDOE notes that:
LEAs must now provide parents or guardians with certain information at least two business days before their child’s annual IEP review meeting. This written information must be mailed by regular mail to the parent or guardian, and if the school has the parent or guardian email address on file, it must also be sent electronically via email. This written information must include:
- A statement of items that will be discussed at the IEP meeting.
- The student’s current levels of academic and functional performance.
- A list of any required IEP team members who the school is requesting to be excused from the meeting. This list must include each excused member’s input regarding the programs and services for which they are responsible. o This is in addition to any standard excusal consent forms already provided under federal and state regulations.
- An invitation for the parent or guardian to provide feedback on the proposed programs and services in the student’s IEP.
P.L. 2025, c.107 provides an additional opportunity to support meaningful parental participation in IEP meetings but does not alter or replace the requirements in N.J.A.C. 6A:14 related to meeting notices or the provision of evaluation reports to parents. LEAs remain responsible for implementing the notice of meeting requirements outlined in N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.3(k)3–5 and 9–10. Additionally, P.L. 2025, c.107 does not relieve LEAs of the obligation to provide parents with copies of evaluation reports at least 10 days before meetings to determine initial eligibility (N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.5(a)) or continued eligibility following a reevaluation (N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.8(f)1).
Implementation Timeline Districts are strongly urged to implement the new requirements of P.L. 2025, c.107 for all annual review IEP meetings held during the 2025–2026 school year and to use this period to refine local policies and procedures in preparation for full compliance as required by July 1, 2026. Early action will allow teams to identify and address logistical challenges, align practices with the law’s intent, and support staff and families in understanding the new requirements. For additional information or clarification, please direct questions to the Office of Special Education at (609) 376-9060 or send an email to OSEinfo@doe.nj.gov.
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In addition to reiterating provisions of the law, the NJDOE guidance establishes expectations with respect to school districts’ implementation of the law and notes a significant area where the law is not applicable. The department encourages school districts to adhere to the terms of the law in the 2025-26 school year, and importantly, suggests that districts prepare during the current school year to meet the requirements of the law by the 2026-27 school year. These suggestions are vitally important for school districts. Establishing procedures to gather and compile information for the PLAAFP and input form team members the district seeks to excuse from annual review IEP team meetings in a timely manner will be paramount for school districts, as this work now must be completed at least five days prior to annual review IEP team meetings, which is a change from past practice and requirements. Likewise, scheduling of meetings will have to begin earlier to allow for a mutually agreeable date to be set, and to then provide all required materials to the parent by regular mail two days prior to the meeting date. Both processes will necessitate development of new procedures by school districts to ensure that all staff involved in the process complete the necessary work on time. This includes all teaching staff and providers who create necessary information for the PLAAFP.
In addition, the NJDOE’s memo provides a significant reminder with respect to IEP meetings other than annual review meetings. Initial IEP team meetings after eligibility is determined, and IEP team meetings as part of a reevaluation, are not covered by the provisions of P.L. 2025 c. 107, as they are not annual review meetings.[3] Therefore, the requirement to provide assessment reports ten days prior to those meetings is not altered by the law, as it does not apply to these IEP team meetings. District procedures must therefore account for the various requirements for scheduling and provision of information for IEP team meetings based on the purpose of the meeting and the laws and regulations applicable to such meetings, and development of necessary procedures should begin now to ensure compliance in the 2026-27 school year.
Moving Forward
School leaders are urged to take advantage of the significant lead time prior to the effective date of the law to develop necessary procedures to implement the provisions of P.L. 2025, c. 107. Districts should use the 2025-26 school year to develop systems to gather and compile information for the PLAAFP and excusal requests far enough in advance of annual review IEP meetings to permit adherence to the mailing and notice requirements. These procedures will need to differentiate between types of IEP meetings and assure compliance with requirements for notice and provision of documentation for all types of IEP team meetings, including meetings other than annual review meetings. Scheduling of meetings must also be addressed by such procedures, as the mutually agreeable meeting date establishes the timeline for all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Waiting until the 2026-27 school year to engage in this work will leave school districts susceptible to requests for complaint investigation and special education monitoring determinations of non-compliance with applicable requirements.
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[1] Because the law was not passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor by July 1, 2025, it does not go into effect until the 2026-27 school year. This s because, by its terms, the law does not go into effect until the first full school year after enactment, and school years by law start on July 1 in New Jersey.
[2] There is a legal presumption established in case law that regular mail is received by the third day from mailing. As such, in order to counter an assertion that the mandated materials were not received on time, school districts must establish mailing five days prior to the scheduled annual review IEP team meeting date. This will necessitate development of procedures to document timely mailing of all required materials.
[3] This is also applicable for IEP team meetings to discuss specific issues or requests by parents and any IEP team meeting that is not the annual review IEP team meeting.