2014 Special Education Task Force Report and Recommendations
Dear New Jersey Department of Education,
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Dear Records Custodian,
Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq.), I am requesting access to the following public records:
1. A copy of the final report and any formal recommendations issued by the New Jersey Task Force on Improving Special Education for Public School Students, which was active in or around 2014.
2. Any supporting documents, appendices, meeting minutes, public comments, or related correspondence that were submitted to or produced by the task force in connection with its final recommendations.
3. Any communications or memoranda from the New Jersey Department of Education regarding the publication, removal, or current location of the task force report or recommendations on the DOE website.
If these records are available in electronic format, I request that they be provided via email. If any portion of this request is unclear or requires clarification, I am happy to provide additional detail.
Thank you for your attention to this request. I look forward to your response within the timeframe permitted under OPRA.
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Thank you,
Kai Collins
Dear Requestor,
The Department of Education is in receipt of your request below. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g), requests for correspondence must contain: (1) the name or specific job title/position of the sender and/or recipient, (2) a specific subject matter, and (3) a specific date or range of dates, which must be confined to a reasonable time period. Please provide this information for parts two and three of your request so that we may continue to process your request.
Jeannette Larkins
Records Custodian
New Jersey Department of Education
100 Riverview Plaza, Trenton, NJ – 08625
Web: https://www.nj.gov/education/
Dear OPRA Custodian,
The Department of Education is in receipt of your request below.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g), requests for correspondence must contain:
(1) the name or specific job title/position of the sender and/or recipient:
Answer: Kai Collins
(2) a specific subject matter, and
Answer: Records Request: 2014 NJ Task Force on Improving Special Education – Final Report and Related Documents
(3) a specific date or range of dates, which must be confined to a reasonable time period. Please provide this information for parts two and three of your request so that we may continue to process your request.
Answer: Jan 2014-Dec 2020
Thank you,
Kai Collins
Dear OPRA Custodian,
1) I am the sender, my name is Kai Collins, and I am a parent, community member, taxpayer, stakeholder…pick whichever “title” you need.
2) the subject matter is clear. I am looking for the 2014 Special Education task force report that your website used to contain and now it does not.
3) lets say January 2014 through January 2024. This is one decade. I don’t know when your department removed this report, one why, or how.
please respond without further delay.
Kai Collins
Dear Requestor,
We have not received a response to our email below regarding your request. Please respond in writing so that we may continue to process your request.
Jeannette Larkins
Records Custodian
New Jersey Department of Education
100 Riverview Plaza, Trenton, NJ – 08625
Web: https://www.nj.gov/education/
Dear OPRA Custodian,
I have responded to you several times at this point. What else are you looking for?
1) I am the sender, my name is Kai Collins, and I am a parent, community member, taxpayer, stakeholder…pick whichever “title” you need.
2) the subject matter is clear. I am looking for the 2014 Special Education task force report that your website used to contain and now it does not.
3) lets say January 2014 through January 2024. This is one decade. I don’t know when your department removed this report, one why, or how.
please respond without further delay.
Kai Collins
Yours sincerely,
Kai Collins
Dear Requestor,
Attached please find records responsive to part one of your request.
Attached please also find records responsive to part two of your request
regarding “meeting minutes”. The Department of Education does not make or
maintain records responsive to your request for “appendices and public
comments”. Accordingly, these parts of your request are denied.
Additionally, please note, requests for “supporting documents” on a
particular topic are overbroad and fail to identify with reasonable
clarity the specific government records sought, as is required by Bent v.
Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J. Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 2005).
Accordingly, this part of your request is denied. Furthermore, pursuant to
N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g), requests for correspondence must contain: (1) the
name or specific job title/position of the sender and/or recipient, (2) a
specific subject matter, and (3) a specific date or range of dates, which
must be confined to a reasonable time period, accordingly, the part of
your request seeking “correspondence” is denied. To the extent that you
are seeking correspondence from yourself to the Department of Education
using the search parameters you provided in your email dated August 9,
2025, the Department of Education does not make or maintain records
responsive to your request. Accordingly, the request is denied.
Regarding part three of your request, the Department of Education does not
make or maintain records responsive to your request for “memoranda”.
Additionally, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 47:1A-5(g), requests for correspondence
must contain: (1) the name or specific job title/position of the sender
and/or recipient, (2) a specific subject matter, and (3) a specific date
or range of dates, which must be confined to a reasonable time period,
accordingly, the part of your request seeking “correspondence” is denied.
To the extent that you are seeking correspondence from yourself to the
Department of Education using the search parameters you provided in your
email dated August 9, 2025, the Department of Education does not make or
maintain records responsive to your request. Accordingly, the request is
denied.
A receipt indicating same, and that your request has been closed, is also
attached.
Jeannette Larkins
Records Custodian
New Jersey Department of Education
100 Riverview Plaza, Trenton, NJ – 08625
Web: [1]https://www.nj.gov/education/
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this communication
from the New Jersey Department of Education is privileged and confidential
and is intended for the sole use of the persons or entities who are the
addressees. If you are not an intended recipient of this email, the
dissemination, distribution, copying or use of the information it contains
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error,
please immediately contact the New Jersey Department of Education at (609)
376-3500 to arrange for the return of this information.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.nj.gov/education/