Special Education Incident Sparks Investigation In Barnegat

BARNEGAT, NJ — Barnegat Township School District staff were put on leave following an incident involving the district's special needs program.

Superintendent Brian Latwis addressed the situation in a letter home to parents on April 3, noting that the district took "immediate action."

"We immediately placed on leave one teacher and four support staff members who appeared to be involved and/or had knowledge of the incident, which involved a student at the Russell O. Brackman School," Latwis wrote.

Latwis confirmed to Patch that all members were put on leave pending Board of Education action next week.

Details of the incident, which took place in the district's Academics, Communication, and Essential Skills (ACES) program primarily for students diagnosed with autism, were not publicly shared. A family member involved confirmed the incident to Patch.

Police Chief Jason Carroll confirmed to Patch that the district contacted the department on March 31 regarding the incident at Brackman Middle School, where the ACES program is housed.

"After initial investigation, it was determined that there was nothing that occurred necessitating criminal charges and the personnel matter was referred back the school district," Carroll told Patch.

The Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P) is also investigating, according to Latwis's letter.

The district itself also conducted an internal investigation; a special Board of Education meeting has been set for April 9 at 6 p.m. to discuss personnel matters, according to public notice.

"I do want to make this clear: Barnegat Township School District does not condone the kind of behavior under investigation," Latwis wrote in the letter. "We took immediate action to contact partner agencies to ensure we hold staff accountable and demonstrate the standards of conduct and expectations we have for anyone who is part of our school community. We take the health and safety of each child personally, and we take incidents that pose a risk to that priority extremely seriously."