Nine-year-old David loves dinosaurs and scooters, trying new foods, and playing outdoors. At school he is especially good at reading, writing, and social studies but struggles with communication and abstract thinking. He is a very sociable kid, says his father, “the type of child other kids gravitate towards because he’s kind and easy to be around.” He learns best, his father told NJ Education Report, when included with neuro-typical peers, despite his diagnosis of autism.
However, during school hours David*, a fourth grader enrolled in Cherry Hill Public Schools, is segregated in a self-contained autism classroom. Over the last four years — David started kindergarten in Cherry Hill in 2021 — his parents have pleaded with their Child Study Team, superintendent, and special education administrators to place their child in an inclusion class or at least integrate him with other non-classified students for part of the day. But, according to his father— who teaches world languages in another district in Camden County and is certified in special education—-Cherry Hill is adamant that David’s placement be in the district’s most restrictive environment.
In response to a request for comment, Nina Baratti of Cherry Hill Public Schools said, while the district cannot comment on matters involving students due to privacy laws, it “strives to provide an inclusive and educational environment for each of our students. We are proud to serve approximately 2,200 students with IEP’s (Individualized Education Programs). The academic, social, and emotional needs of our students are at the center of all that we do.” The district “embraces inclusion as part of our culture, not just our policy” and offers “various inclusion opportunities and programs tailored to every learner.”…