At its recent May meeting, the New Jersey State Board of Education heard a variety of updates and took action on a number of items. These included:
- Resolution to Recognize May 2017 as Physical Education and Sport Month The State Board passed a resolution in recognition of the central role of physical education and sports in creating a healthy lifestyle for all children in the State of New Jersey.
- I-STEAM Team The State Board recognized the achievements of students from the Evesham school district who created an app to keep track of food expiration dates. The students from DeMasi Middle School were previously recognized for their accomplishments at Workshop 2016.
- AchieveNJ Educator Evaluation Results and Growing Excellent Educators New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) staff reviewed with the State Board the state’s educator evaluation system. According to the NJDOE, teachers at all performance levels are improving: Two-thirds of teachers identified as less-than-effective have improved their practice through targeted coaching. The number of highly effective teachers has grown each year over the past three years. The NJDOE has awarded $2 million in stipends to 250 highly effective educators from 28 school districts to further develop as teacher-leaders through the Achievement Coach Program…/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary Internet Files/Content.Outlook/9KGAPUNK/AchieveNJ Three Year Review.State Board May 3 2017.ppt
- Resolution to Support Social and Emotional Learning Competencies The State Board discussed a resolution to encourage school district implementation of the New Jersey Social and Emotional Learning Competencies to promote positive school climates, regular attendance, and academic achievement in all subject areas and across all grade levels to prepare students for post-secondary success.
- Religious Holidays CalendarThe State Board adopted a resolution pertaining to the annual calendar of religious holidays for the 2017-2018 school year as required by N.J.S.A. 18A:36-14 through 16. The commissioner, with the approval of the State Board of Education, is required to prepare a list of religious holidays on which it shall be mandatory to excuse a student. The list, however, is to be a minimum list. Boards of education, at their discretion, may add other days to the list for the schools of their districts. Any student absent from school because of a religious holiday may not be deprived of any award or of eligibility or opportunity to compete for any award because of such absence. Students who miss a test or examination because of absence on a religious holiday must be given the right to take an alternate test or examination. Any absence because of a religious holiday must be recorded in the school register or in any group or class attendance record as an excused absence.
- City of Newark – School Qualified Bonds The State Board adopted a resolution approving an application to allow the City of Newark to issue $30,582,031 of school qualified bonds. The bonds will be issued for the purpose of improving various schools of the district.
- Student Transportation (Abigail’s Law) The State Board proposed rules that will effectuate the law, which requires school buses manufactured on or after July 17, 2016, to be equipped with a sensor “to determine the presence of objects in the front or back of the bus.” In response to comments received, the State Board is making substantive changes to the proposal and having comment on the substantive changes for an additional sixty days. The NJDOE is proposing additional definitions concerning the sensors. Additionally, the proposal will define a minimum height and shape of the person(s) or object(s) the system must be designed to detect.
- Evaluation of the Performance of School Districts The State Board of Education continued its discussions about proposed new regulations for the state’s school monitoring system, the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC).The changes would allow the NJDOE to reduce the number of overall indicators, and eliminate redundancy. NJDOE also hopes to reduce the time and resources needed to prepare for a NJQSAC monitoring visit, allowing more time to focus on instructional needs of the district. The goal is to focus NJDOE’s role more on support rather than compliance. NJDOE proposes to maintain for the 2017-2018 school year, with no changes, three sections of the review: Appendix A (District Performance Review); Appendix B (District Performance Review for County Special Services School Districts), and Appendix C (Statement of Assurance). It then proposes to repeal those appendices, effective July 1, 2018, and replace them with new appendices. The proposed district performance reviews will align NJQSAC with the state’s plan under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). NJDOE expects to adopt these amendments in November 2017 and make them effective for September 2018, giving districts time to transition to the amended requirements. The NJSBA presented its initial comments on the proposal at the meeting.
- Educational Facilities The potential exposure to lead-contaminated drinking water poses serious health problems, particularly for children, as well as for teachers and school personnel, since the risk of lead contamination can come from pipe and plumbing fixtures in educational facilities. The risk of lead contamination also can come from a public water supplier, which has independent testing requirements. The rules proposed for readoption, with amendments, institute drinking water testing for all drinking water outlets and food preparation sources in all applicable education facilities in the state. The NJSBA presented its initital comments on the proposal at the meeting.
- Regulatory Equivalency and Waiver The State Board began discussions of the rules that govern the equivalency and waiver process and provide the opportunity for regulatory flexibility for school districts and most programs regulated by the department. An equivalency is permission to meet the requirements of a rule through an alternative means selected by the district board of education. A waiver allows a district board of education to avoid compliance with the specific procedures or substantive requirements of a rule for reasons that are educationally, organizationally, and fiscally sound. The rules require a school district’s educational community, including parents, administration, and staff members, to be informed of the proposed equivalency or waiver and provided the opportunity to comment. The equivalency and waiver process cannot be applied to certification requirements under the purview of the State Board of Examiners or to J.A.C. 6A:14, Special Education.
- Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf The State Board began discussion of this chapter that establishes rules for the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf (Katzenbach School) and for school districts that apply to the school on behalf of students and/or send students to the school. The rules address student eligibility and admission, as well as graduation of Katzenbach School students, and provide for an appeals process if a student is refused admission to the Katzenbach School.