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Robert Brown and his wife moved to Newark after 10 years of living in Florida, where they faced challenges in getting special education services for their two sons who have autism.

Their children, Warren, 9, and Nathaniel, 6, are both nonverbal and require speech, applied behavior analysis, and occupational therapies. Nathaniel has a more severe disability, Brown said, and requires the same services as his older brother along with behavioral therapy and a classroom aide.

After enrolling his sons in Newark Public Schools in July using the Newark Enrolls application online, he thought they were all set.

But on Sept. 3, Newark Public Schools鈥� first day of school, Brown took his sons to McKinley Elementary School, the school they were supposed to attend, only to be told McKinley had space for Warren, but not for Nathaniel. The younger boy has been forced to stay home ever since 鈥� missing the crucial first week of a school year as well as much-needed services that help with Nathaniel鈥檚 disability.

The Browns are not the only family whose return to school has been marked by confusion and disruption. Several other parents of children with disabilities told Chalkbeat Newark that on the first day of school, they were told their child did not have a school placement. Other parents said they were told their child was enrolled at a different school.

The issues families are grappling with this year speak to a growing need in the district where an increasing number of students require special education services. This school year, roughly half of Newark Public Schools鈥� nearly 40,000 students is made up of vulnerable students in need of additional support and resources. This fall, roughly 7,000 students need special education services and another 11,000 .

The district said it鈥檚 not experiencing a problem with enrollment and that those seeking a placement can visit the Newark Enrolls website or the school closest to their home for direct assistance and support, Paul Brubaker, Newark Public Schools communication director, said in a Sept. 6 email to Chalkbeat. Students who have completed the enrollment process and are placed at school receive the services and accommodations they are entitled to from their first day of attendance, Brubaker added.

But Brown said that鈥檚 not what his family has experienced.

After a plan to move to New York fell through, the family scrambled to secure an apartment in Newark over the summer. Brown said he enrolled his sons in the district by using the Newark Enrolls application. By early August, he had already sent the district his children鈥檚 Individualized Education Program, a written plan that outlines the services a student with a disability needs in school, along with a list of 10 schools he would prefer his children to attend.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going through the motions, but it鈥檚 frustrating, you know because I did everything early, I figured that, you know, that would have helped,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淚 know there鈥檚 an overcrowding problem, but you know, he needs to go somewhere. He can鈥檛 be out of school, this isn鈥檛 the 1700s.鈥�

Brown says he鈥檚 reached out to the district鈥檚 Board of Education and a special needs coordinator at the state鈥檚 department of education, which are in the process of finding a school for Nathaniel but the principal at McKinley told him no seats are available for students with disabilities across the city.

And the clock is ticking. Brown is set to begin work in a few weeks, while Nathaniel sits at home along with his sick grandmother who is cared for by Brown鈥檚 wife.

Nathaniel, who has severe autism, will run around the house and scream when he鈥檚 told not to do something, Brown said. The family goes to bed by 10:30 p.m. every night so Nathaniel can sleep through the night but often he wakes up around 3:30 a.m. full of energy. His son鈥檚 neurologist prescribed medication for Nathaniel but in the end, Brown said, his son needs the proper services to help him manage his disability.

Like Brown, Alyssa Drysdale was told on the first day of school that her kindergarten daughter Eva, who has an IEP, was not enrolled at the school she was supposed to attend: Quitman Street Elementary School where she had gone to pre-K last year.

Drysdale waited over an hour on the first day of classes in the school鈥檚 gym with her daughter Eva, who requires speech therapy and may need an aide this school year as she can be easily triggered in a classroom environment. Drysdale wasn鈥檛 told why she and other parents had to wait until she spoke with school staff who told her that Eva wasn鈥檛 enrolled in the school, Drysdale said.

The school鈥檚 principal and her staff were working to find a placement for Eva when Drysdale realized she needed to check her car. As she was walking out, she saw her car getting towed.

鈥淚 see my car in the back of a tow truck, and I had to pick up Eva, and she鈥檚 so heavy, and I鈥檓 literally chasing the tow truck down. Like, please, oh my God, can I have my car back now? I wasn鈥檛 expecting to take this long,鈥� Drysdale said.

When she went back to the school, Drysdale 鈥渏ust wanted to cry there, like I was so sad.鈥� She spoke with a caseworker who said to wait for a call from the district with a placement for Eva. In the meantime, Drysdale said, they offered a take-home packet so Eva could do school work at home.

Instead, Drysdale said she returned the next day to drop Eva off at the school.

鈥淚 do work overnight, but the only time I do get to rest is during school, so I ended up dropping her in the morning, but this situation was a little weird to me,鈥� Drysdale said.

The next day, a caseworker told Drysdale they would take Eva while the school figured out a permanent placement for her. But Drysdale isn鈥檛 sure if her daughter will move to another classroom or when her speech therapy, which Eva needs so she can learn to express herself better, will begin, Drysdale said.

鈥淪he can express her needs,鈥� Drysdale said, 鈥漛ut as far as being in depth, she wouldn鈥檛 be able to explain herself.鈥�

Newark students with disabilities face recurring problems

Brown鈥檚 and Drysdale鈥檚 enrollment issues parents of students with disabilities have faced in Newark. Students with disabilities also face greater learning challenges as they have been some of the from the COVID-19 pandemic, with from learning disruptions.

In 2019, the New Jersey Department of Education cited the district for related to education plans for students with disabilities.

In 2022, the with reporting in education plans, notifying parents of meetings, and missing meetings with parents and students with disabilities as part of responsibilities mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). The state ordered the district to take corrective action by November 2022.

This year鈥檚 enrollment problems are also affecting high school students. Tameerah Green鈥檚 son, Jaimir Velez, is a 10th grade student with an IEP, who last year, attended Eagle Academy located inside Weequahic High School. On Aug. 16, Green received a letter from the district confirming that her son鈥檚 district-provided transportation would arrive on the first day of school and drop him off at Eagle Academy.

But on Sept. 3, after her son was picked up by his bus and dropped off at Eagle Academy, Green received a call from Clark Thompson, the school鈥檚 child study team social worker, notifying her Jaimir was supposed to attend Malcolm X Shabazz High school, not Eagle. No one had told her about the school change prior to that morning.

Jaimir has a learning disability and needs a stable environment with familiar teachers to avoid sparking behavioral issues, Green said. The mother sent Jaimir to Eagle Academy the next day, on Sept. 4, but when he returned home, Jaimir said a teacher told him he wasn鈥檛 supposed to be at the school.

On the third day of school, Jaimir started to complain about headaches and stomach cramps, which Green feels is a result of not feeling welcomed at the school. Jaimir hasn鈥檛 been back to school since Sept. 4.

鈥淚 took him to the doctor today to make sure everything was fine but I know where it鈥檚 coming from,鈥� said Green on Monday.

Advocate Nadine Wright-Arbubakrr has a long history of working with Newark families to secure school services and, through her nonprofit Nassan鈥檚 Place, offers . But this is the first time she has heard about parents of students with disabilities facing enrollment issues during the first days of school.

鈥淗ow is it possible that these parents continue to deal with these problems every school year? It鈥檚 just not fair,鈥� said Wright-Arbubakrr, who founded Nassan鈥檚 Place more than 10 years ago to help families navigate the problems she once faced as a Newark parent of a student with autism.

With the second week of school underway, Brown and his family are hoping the district can find a school for Nathaniel soon. In the meantime, he鈥檚 looking at schools outside of the district, including , a private K-12 school that offers programs for students with disabilities at its Montclair and Union campuses.

But ultimately, he hopes Newark can provide his youngest son with a public school education, 鈥渂ecause that鈥檚 why we came here.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 going to start working in maybe a couple weeks, but I鈥檓 not going to be here, then everything, mostly, is going to be on my wife,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e already overwhelmed.鈥�

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This was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

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