It’s just a table.
That’s what I keep coming back to when I read about the fight between the Cherry Hill school district and its special education PTA.
A table.
A folding table at Back-to-School Night where parents of children with disabilities can stop for information, ask questions, meet other parents and find out that they are not alone. Simple.
And somehow, this year, that became complicated according to a story on nj.com. https://www.nj.com/education/2026/09/special-ed-pta-just-wanted-a-table-but-nj-school-district-ends-long-tradition-pta-says.html
A useless change
The Cherry Hill Special Education PTA, or CHSEPTA, says it had been setting up an informational table at schools during Back-to-School Night for more than a decade. This year, district officials told the organization it could no longer simply arrange a table with individual schools.
If CHSEPTA wanted to participate, it would have to go through the larger Zone PTA. What makes this more laughable is Superintendent Kwame R. Morton says he thought CHSEPTA was a subcommittee of Zone PTA and not an independent group. Yet he still won’t budge.
The district says it was simply establishing a consistent process for PTA participation.
There are two sides to the dispute, and I wasn’t there for those conversations. I don’t know what was in anybody’s heart or what anybody’s motivation was.
But I do know what it feels like to be the parent of children with autism.
I have two boys, 9 and 11, who are autistic.
So when I hear that a special education parent organization that has been showing up for families for more than a decade suddenly can’t have its own table, my reaction sure as hell isn’t, “Well, it’s no big deal.”
It’s: Why wouldn’t you want that table there?
Because for some parents, that table might be the most important one in the room.
Cherry Hill Board of Education administrative building (Google Maps)
What it matters
Back-to-School Night can be a very different experience for a parent whose child has special needs. You’re not necessarily just looking for the teacher’s name and wondering about homework. You may have questions about an IEP. You may be worried about your child’s ability to navigate the school day. You may be wondering whether anyone understands what your kid needs.
And sometimes you don’t even know what questions you should be asking yet.
That’s why organizations like CHSEPTA matter.
The Cherry Hill school district itself identifies CHSEPTA separately on school websites alongside individual school PTAs and the district’s special education advisory group. CHSEPTA’s own description of its work has included supporting, educating and advocating for families of children with special learning needs.
That’s not some fringe group wandering into a school looking for attention.
It’s a parent organization whose entire purpose is to connect with families like mine.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash
Why it hurts
And that’s why the optics of this are so troubling, regardless of whether anyone intended them to be. Because special education families are accustomed to having to fight for things other families don’t have to fight for.
You fight for services.
You fight for accommodations.
You fight to make sure your child’s needs are understood.
You fight for your child’s human dignity sometimes.
You sit in meetings and learn acronyms and jargon you never expected to know.
You become an expert in your own child because you have to. And you are exhausted from all the fighting.
And sometimes, whether it’s intended or not, you get the feeling that your child is something the system grudgingly deals with rather than someone who is an equally important part of the school community.
That’s the part I don’t want us to lose sight of.
I’m not saying Cherry Hill doesn’t care about children with disabilities. That would be unfair, and the district can point to programs and services it provides.
I’m saying that special education parents notice things differently.
We notice when we’re included.
We notice when we’re not.
In my boys’ former school they would send home a schedule for picture day of which classes would get school photos which day. I had to call every year because they wouldn’t bother putting the special ed classes on this list.
We notice when somebody makes it easier for us to find information.
And we notice when something that used to be simple suddenly becomes another bureaucratic hurdle.
If consistency is the goal, parents deserve an explanation
Maybe the district’s new procedure really is about consistency.
Fine.
Then explain that to the parents.
And if CHSEPTA has been doing this for more than ten years, ask yourself what is actually gained by making it harder for them to have a presence at Back-to-School Night.
Because if the answer is essentially, “That’s the new procedure,” I think we’re missing the point.
Sometimes the most important thing a school district can do isn’t create another procedure.
Sometimes it’s simply making it easier for a parent to find someone who understands what they’re going through.
That’s what that table represents to me.
It’s not furniture.
It’s not territory.
It’s not a PTA turf war.
It’s a sign that the parents of special-needs children belong in the middle of the school community, not off to the side waiting for somebody to remember them.
And as the father of two autistic boys, I’ll tell you something else:
They’re kids.
They’re somebody’s son or daughter.
They’re somebody’s entire world.
And they deserve to feel like they’re part of the school, just like everybody else.
And if we’re serious about making special education families feel included, that’s a pretty important table to have.
The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff’s own.
Share of your tax bill going to schools vs. municipality
How your property tax bill is split up depends on where you live. This is the data from the state for the year 2025.
Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5
The Top 20: New Jersey High Schools Shine in National Rankings
Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt
