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Bayonne parents tell board delays, denials left special-needs students without timely supports
Summary
Parents told the Bayonne Board of Education that evaluations and IEP services have been delayed or denied, citing incomplete documentation, expulsion from preschool after safety advocacy, and impacts on students’ attendance and academic progress.
Parents and advocates urged the Bayonne Board of Education on Feb. 25 to address what they described as prolonged delays and inconsistent handling of special-education evaluations and supports.
Clayton Biladoo, speaking with his wife Maywish Avis, said their son Noah was diagnosed with autism in December 2023 and that, despite medical recommendations for speech, occupational and ABA therapies in a general-education setting, the district repeatedly denied a full IEP evaluation. “We are 17 months in this journey,” Biladoo told the board, saying the child-study team received documentation he described as incomplete and inaccurate and that the family experienced what they called retaliatory removal of their son from a preschool program after they requested a tracking device to protect him.
The parents said prior communications with the superintendent and school staff produced scheduled meetings and an announced third identification meeting, but that the records the district relied on were missing key benchmark and progress sections. Biladoo asked the board to “take immediate action to one address the systemic delays and retaliation that have hindered our ability to secure the support of our child.”
Earlier in the public-comment period, Jessica Yuski described her daughter’s repeated assaults at the high school and said a no-contact order and proposed mediation left the family feeling unsafe; Yuski said her daughter is now being homeschooled because she is afraid to return and that the situation has caused absences and academic decline. “This is supposed to be the best four years of my daughter’s life,” Yuski said.
Parent Dina Lkey raised related access questions about the district’s planned fine-arts academy, asking the board to clarify application criteria (grades, conduct, artwork), whether evaluators have fine-arts credentials, how many special-education students will be admitted and whether out-of-district students will be included.
Why it matters: Parents and staff described real-time consequences — missed school, medical notes extending absences, and gaps in child-study documentation — that they say are delaying access to federally protected special-education services. Board members did not take immediate action on specific cases during the meeting; administrators acknowledged upcoming steps (an additional evaluation meeting had been scheduled) and said staff would follow up with individual families.
What’s next: Parents said they will follow up with district staff and the board. Administrators indicated that the child-study process and record completeness will be reviewed as part of follow-up, but the board did not vote on case-level remedies during the session.
