Special Education School Plan Still In Concept Stage, Toms River Superintendent Says

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Toms River Regional Schools Superintendent Michael Citta said he will present a concept plan for special education in the district to the community at the Oct. 15 school board meeting.

In a letter to parents distributed Thursday, Citta addressed rumors that have been circulating in the community since early in the week about the future of special education in the district.

"While I have communicated this concept to building leaders and staff members here, it is just that – a concept," Citta said in the letter. "Let me be clear that Toms River is only in the planning stages of developing this concept that would include a school for our most vulnerable student population. Anything that you may have read or heard may not be accurate, and I encourage you to be part of the conversation."

The school board meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Oct. 15 in the auditorium at Toms River High School North on Old Freehold Road. The meeting is preceded by an executive session that begins at 5:30 p.m.

In a phone call on Thursday, Citta said the discussions are just at the beginning stages.

"It’s basically right now an idea that needs to go through a whole process," Citta said. That process includes input from families and staff. "The whole planning of the thing will be out in the open, not behind closed doors."

"We see a need based on our demographics and a need to do better for our kids," Citta said.

The district, which has more than 14,500 students, has more than 3,500 students with special education needs, according to figures presented during the Citizens Budget Advisory meeting in April.

Citta said the district's administration was given information about the ideas under consideration and that led to the rumors.

"It's human nature, people will talk," he said. "The telephone tag turned into they’re going to move all the self-contained kids into a building and lock them away."

"That is not what we are doing," Citta said.

The changing demographics of the district with the increasing special needs enrollment has brought added financial pressures.

There are "out-of-control costs because there are no caps" on tuition in out-of-district programs, Citta said. "We can't continue to use bubble gum and duct tape and take away from our general education kids."

Figures presented during the Citizens Budget Advisory meeting showed $56,825,097 in anticipated costs for student services and special education for 2025-26, an 11.7 percent increase — more than $5.9 million — over the 2024-25 school year.

Special education costs have skyrocketed for districts across the state, deeply impacting budgets amid battles over state funding. For the 2025-26 school year there were discussions in the state Legislature about changing how aid for special education is calculated, moving from an estimate of how man special education students a district "should" have to funding it based on actual special education enrollment.

"The objective of any such plan should be to protect and enhance the opportunities for all of our students in this district," he said of addressing special education impacts on the district.

He said the plan would maintain inclusion for special education students, which is required under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

"That's paramount," Citta said. "This is not a less-mainstreaming plan" or one that violates the IDEA requirements of placing special education students in the least restrictive environment.

"IEPs need to be honored and increased," he said. "We must support those most at risk while increasing opportunities for all students."

Citta said he will present his ideas for the special education program, something he thinks could be a one-of-a-kind program that could be a model for other school districts in the state. He sees them as a starting point.

"It might not be where we end up," he said. "Our community has to have a say."

"It has to work for kids, and if it doesn't work for kids, we won't do it," Citta said.