Roselle parent formally contests daughter’s placement, cites missing special‑education instruction

During the public‑comment portion of the meeting, parent Alexandra Tanganger of Amsterdam Avenue detailed concerns arising from a recent IEP meeting and formally contested the planned placement for her daughter, Sila Romeo.

Tanganger said that when Sila’s general‑education teacher left, a dual‑certified teacher covered the class but that, for months, the district relied on a paraprofessional rather than a certified special‑education teacher to provide the specialized instruction her daughter’s IEP requires. She said she never received notification of the IEP instructor and that promised communications from the child study team did not materialize.

"A paraprofessional is not a special‑education teacher. A special‑education teacher designs, delivers, and monitors specialized instruction while a paraprofessional assists in implementing that instruction," Tanganger said. She asked the board to place her daughter at Harrison Elementary for the coming year because, she said, Harrison has smaller class sizes, more instructional staff and stronger recent standardized ELA and math outcomes.

Tanganger said she is formally contesting the daughter’s placement for next year and asked the district to provide the setting best equipped to meet her daughter’s needs.

The board did not take an immediate action on the request during the meeting; administrators and special‑education staff were referenced in the parent’s account but did not respond on the record at that time. The parent said she will pursue placement review through the district’s formal processes and expects follow‑up from the child study team.