PATERSON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION AND DARLENE GONZALEZ V. STATE-OPERATED SCHOOL DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF PATERSON, PASSAIC COUNTY, 5/24/12, (#219-12)

#219-12 (OAL Decision: http://lawlibrary.rutgers.edu/collections/oal/html/initial/edu10882-
10_1.html)
PATERSON EDUCATION ASSOCIATION 	:
AND DARLENE GONZALEZ,
: 	COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
PETITIONERS,
: 	DECISION
V.
:
STATE-OPERATED SCHOOL DISTRICT
OF THE CITY OF PATERSON, 	:
PASSAIC COUNTY,
:
RESPONDENT.
:
SYNOPSIS
Petitioners alleged that respondent School District was in violation of its obligation to employ the
proper ratio of school nurses to provide services for every preschool child in the District.
Specifically, they asserted that N.J.A.C. 6A:13A-4.5 mandates that there be one school nurse for
every 300 preschool children – a ratio that the District failed to comply with. 	Petitioners further
contended that the District had improperly sought to meet the needs of its preschool students through
the use of medical assistants who cannot legally perform certain of the required tasks that a school
nurse can perform. 	Respondent argued that petitioners do not have standing to pursue their
complaint, and that such factors as finances and school nurse availability had precluded it from
complying with N.J.A.C. 6A:13A-4.5. Petitioners submitted a motion for summary decision.
The ALJ found that: the Paterson Education Association did have standing to bring the action; there
were no material facts in dispute, and the matter was ripe for summary decision; the respondent had
failed to assert any legal defense to its non-compliance; and accordingly, the District was not in
compliance with N.J.A.C. 6A:13A-4.5. 	The ALJ ordered the District to take all necessary steps to
bring itself into compliance, and – if it was unable to have the proper ratio at the start of the 2011-
2012 school year – to utilize all means necessary to achieve compliance as soon as possible by the
end of that year.
The Deputy Commissioner – to whom this matter was delegated pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:4-33 –
noted that, subsequent to the Initial Decision, the respondent represented by letter that it had
successfully hired a sufficient number of nurses to meet the requirements of N.J.A.C. 6A:13A-4.5,
and petitioner countered that an updated count of preschool students indicates that – notwithstanding
the recently hired nurses – the required ratio of nurses to students has still not been met.
Accordingly, the matter was remanded to the OAL for specific findings about the number of
preschool students in respondent’s district, the number of qualified nurses employed to minister to
them, and reasons why the ratio mandated by N.J.A.C.6A:13A-4.5 has or has not been satisfied.
This synopsis is not part of the Commissioner’s decision. It has been prepared for the convenience of the
reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Commissioner.
May 24, 2012

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OAL DKT. NO. EDU 10882-10
AGENCY DKT. NO. 316-8/10
PATERSON EDUCATION 	:
ASSOCIATION AND DARLENE
GONZALEZ, 	:
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
PETITIONERS, 	:
DECISION
V. 	:
STATE-OPERATED SCHOOL DISTRICT :
OF THE CITY OF PATERSON,
PASSAIC COUNTY, 	:
RESPONDENT. 	:
____________________________________
This controversy arose when petitioners demanded that respondent comply with
N.J.A.C. 6A:13A-4.5, a regulation obliging boards of education to hire sufficient school nurses to
effectuate 1:300 nurse-preschooler ratios in their districts. 	In addition to rejecting petitioners’
claim of non-compliance with N.J.A.C. 6A:13A-4.5, respondent challenged petitioners’ standing
to bring the instant action.
The matter proceeded in the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) by way of a
summary disposition motion. 	In his summary Initial Decision, the Administrative Law Judge
(ALJ) found that petitioners had standing and that respondent had violated N.J.A.C. 6A:13A-4.5
by retaining insufficient nurses to comply with the above-referenced mandated ratio.
Subsequent 	to 	the 	Initial 	Decision, 	by 	letters 	dated 	March 	15, 	2012 	and
April 3, 2012, respondent represented to the Commissioner and petitioner that it had successfully
hired 	a 	sufficient 	number 	of 	nurses 	to 	meet 	the 	nurse-student 	ratio 	required 	by

2
N.J.A.C. 6A:13A-4.5.1
Accordingly, the Deputy Commissioner – to whom this matter was delegated
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:4-33 – remands the matter to the OAL for specific findings about the
number of preschool students in respondent’s district, the number of qualified nurses employed
to minister to them, and reasons why the ratio mandated by N.J.A.C.6A:13A-4.5 has or has not
been satisfied.
However, petitioner represents that a detailed count of preschool students
in the district reveals that, even with the newly hired nurses, a ratio of one to 300 has not been
achieved.
IT IS SO ORDERED.2
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision: May 24, 2012
Date of Mailing: 	May 25, 2012
1 Respondent does not appear to challenge the ALJ’s determination regarding standing.
2 This decision may be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court pursuant to P.L. 2008, c. 36.
(N.J.S.A. 18A:6-9.1)