E.C.-G., on behalf of minor child, A.J.G. v. Board of Education of the City of Jersey City, Hudson County, 11/27/2023, (#349-23)

349-23
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
E.C.-G., on behalf of A.J.G.,
Petitioner,
v.
Board of Education of the City of Jersey City,
Hudson County,
Respondent.
Synopsis
Pro se petitioner filed a petition on June 20, 2023, seeking emergent relief against the respondent
Board in the form of an Order requiring the District to allow her son A.J.G. to graduate with a diploma at
the scheduled commencement ceremony on June 23, 2023. 	Emergent relief was denied, and the
matter was continued at the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) in order to bring the matter to closure.
The ALJ found that: 	at the conclusion of the emergent hearing, A.J.G. was required to complete his
missing credits over the summer in order to receive his diploma; 	a status conference was held in
August 2023 and petitioner confirmed that A.J.G. had earned the required credits and received his
diploma in time to begin college; 	petitioner also confirmed that she was seeking no other relief, and
agreed that the rest of the petition would be withdrawn from the OAL; 	to date, petitioner has not
submitted a formal written or electronic confirmation of her withdrawal of the case. The ALJ concluded
that the petitioner has abandoned her appeal and returned the file to the Department of Education.
Upon review, the Commissioner concurred with the ALJ that this matter should be dismissed as the
petitioner has indicated that no issues remain to be addressed following the resolution of her motion
for emergent relief. Accordingly, the Initial Decision of the OAL was adopted as the final decision in
this matter and the petition was dismissed.
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.

OAL Dkt. No. EDU 05399-23
Agency Dkt. No. 165-6/23
New Jersey Commissioner of Education
Final Decision
E.C.-G., on behalf of A.J.G.,
Petitioner,
v.
Board of Education of the City of Jersey City,
Hudson County,
Respondent.
The record of this matter and the Initial Decision of the Office of Administrative Law (OAL)
have been reviewed and considered. The parties did not file exceptions.
Upon review, the Commissioner concurs with the Administrative Law Judge that this matter
should be dismissed because the petitioner indicated that no issues remain to be addressed
following the resolution of her motion for emergent relief.
Accordingly, the Initial Decision is adopted as the final decision in this matter, and the
petition of appeal is hereby dismissed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.1
ACTING COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION
Date of Decision:
Date of Mailing:
1 This decision may be appealed to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-9.1.
Under N.J.Ct.R. 2:4-1(b), a notice of appeal must be filed with the Appellate Division within 45 days from the date
of mailing of this decision.
349-23
November 27, 2023
November 29, 2023

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer
State of New Jersey
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
INITIAL DECISION
FAILURE TO APPEAR
OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05399-23
AGENCY DKT. NO. 165-6/23
E.C.-G. ON BEHALF OF MINOR CHILD A.J.G.,
Petitioner,
v.
BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE
CITY OF JERSEY CITY, HUDSON COUNTY,
Respondent.
___________________________________
E.C.-G., o/b/o A.J.G. petitioner pro se
Cherie L. Adams, Esq., for respondent Board of Education of the City of Jersey City
(Adams, Gutierrez and Lattiboudere, attorneys)
Record Closed: September 21, 2023 	Decided: October 25, 2023
BEFORE GAIL M. COOKSON, ALJ:
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Petitioner E.C.-G. filed a Petition of Appeal electronically with the Department of
Education on Sunday, June 18, 2023, and perfected it on June 20, 2023, seeking emergent
relief against the Board of Education of the City of Jersey City (Jersey City or District) in the

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05399-23
2
form of an Order requiring the District to allow her son A.J.G. to graduate with a diploma and
at the commencement ceremony scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, June 23, 2023.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The 	Department 	of 	Education, 	Office 	of 	Controversies 	and 	Disputes 	(DOE),
transmitted the Application for Emergent Relief to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on
June 20, 2023. 	The matter was assigned to the undersigned for oral argument and was
scheduled for June 22, 2023. On that date, I entered an oral decision on the record in order
to facilitate expedited review by the Commissioner, which was then memorialized in a written
Order of the same date, incorporated herein without the necessity of repetition. I denied the
requested emergent relief and did not require the District to allow petitioner’s son to graduate
and participate in the ceremony in June. Instead, he was required to complete some credits
over the summer, at which time he would receive his diploma.
Following the completion of the emergent aspects of this matter, I convened a status
conference on August 21, 2023, in order to determine if the summer credits had been earned
and petitioner’s son had received his diploma in time for begin college. Petitioner confirmed
that her son did receive his diploma and that there was no other relief she was seeking. She
agreed that the rest of the petition would be withdrawn from the OAL. Accordingly, my office
sent several reminders in August and September to petitioner that we were awaiting her
written or electronic confirmation of her withdrawal of the case. We received no response
from any of these requests.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
N.J.A.C. 1:1-14.4(a) provides that if, after appropriate notice, a party does not
appear in any proceeding scheduled by a judge, the judge shall hold the matter for one
day before taking any action. If the judge does not receive an explanation, the judge may
direct the Clerk to return the matter to the transmitting agency for appropriate disposition.
Petitioner has failed to formally “withdraw” her petition but did so indicate on the
telephonic conference call that she had no other issues needing to be tried. 	Based on

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05399-23
3
the foregoing facts and the applicable law, I CONCLUDE that petitioner E.C.-G. has
abandoned this appeal and that it should be returned to the transmitting agency.
ORDER
Based upon the foregoing, it is ORDERED that the appeal filed by petitioner E.C.-
G. for relief against the respondent Board of Education of the City of Jersey City be
returned to the Department of Education for appropriate disposition.
I 	hereby 	FILE 	my 	Initial 	Decision 	with 	the 	COMMISSIONER 	OF 	THE
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION for consideration.
This 	recommended 	decision 	may 	be 	adopted, 	modified 	or 	rejected 	by 	the
COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, who by law is authorized
to make a final decision in this matter. 	If the Commissioner of the Department of
Education does not adopt, modify or reject this decision within forty-five days and unless
such time limit is otherwise extended, this recommended decision shall become a final
decision in accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:14B-10.

OAL DKT. NO. EDU 05399-23
4
Within thirteen days from the date on which this recommended decision was
mailed to the parties, any party may file written exceptions with the COMMISSIONER OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, ATTN: 	BUREAU OF CONTROVERSIES AND
DISPUTES, 100 Riverview Plaza, 4th Floor, PO Box 500, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-
0500, marked "Attention: 	Exceptions." 	A copy of any exceptions must be sent to the
judge and to the other parties.
October 25, 2023
DATE 	GAIL M. COOKSON, ALJ
Date Received at Agency: 	10/25/23
Date Mailed to Parties: 	10/25/23
id