NJPSA had a chance to weigh in on several measures affecting New Jersey students, educators and schools January 29. The Senate Education Committee took testimony on a number of bills related to student certification, student wellness and even school construction.
- S-1760 (Allen) – Recognizes American Sign Language (ASL) as a world language for meeting high school graduation requirements.
- NJPSA testified on the legislation, indicating that many districts already include ASL as a world language and that the State recognizes ASL as one in a myriad of options available to schools to consider when implementing their world language program. The bill had universal support for education stakeholders. Thanks to a friendly amendment, if the legislation were enacted, it would be first effective in the 2015-16 school year.
- S-2245 / A-3256 (Barnes, III / Allen / Diegnan / Pinkin) – Requires teachers of health and physical education in grades kindergarten through six in public schools to possess the appropriate endorsement to the instructional certificate, and includes a "grandfather" provision.
- Under current law, in order to teach health and physical education, physical education, or health in grades kindergarten through six in a public school, a teacher is not required to have a specific endorsements to the instructional certificate. A teacher with an elementary school endorsement, pursuant to certain regulations, is permitted to teach these courses. This legislation would require that physical education instruction at public schools would be provided by individuals who have received comprehensive content and pedagogical training. In order to do this, the bill requires teachers appointed to teach these subjects in grades kindergarten through six to possess the appropriate endorsement to their instructional certificate. The bill, however, includes a liberal “grandfather” provision that will allow teachers who received an elementary school endorsement prior to the effective date of the bill, to continue to teach health and physical education, physical education, or health at these grade levels.
- NJPSA supports the measure having worked to secure the liberal grandfather provision to allow schools to incorporate the new requirement over time (NJPSA Testimony) as do the her sister stakeholder groups
- S-2425 / A-3360 (Ruiz / Allen / Lampitt / Garcia / Mukherji) – Requires each school district with middle school or high school to establish food services advisory committee to consider menu options that reflect students' cultural, traditional, and dietary preferences.
- The legislation directs the chief school administrator of a school district that includes a middle school or high school to establish a food services advisory committee to consider and recommend school breakfast and lunch menu options that better reflect the cultural, traditional, and dietary food preferences of the student body, including vegetarian and vegan meal options. The committee serves in an advisory capacity and makes recommendations to the chief school administrator, the school principals, and the food services provider. Under the bill, the members of the committee are selected by the chief school administrator or a designee and include a principal or a designee, a food services employee, the chief school administrator or a designee, at least four students enrolled in the school district’s middle schools or high schools, and one or more parents of those students.
- In making its recommendations for new menu options, the committee is directed to also consider: available funding for the school breakfast and school lunch programs, equipment, and other issues that may serve to limit food choices; the ability of the food services provider and its employees to comply with the recommendations; and the nutritional value of the new menu options. Finally, the bill provides that any new menu options offered by the school district must meet nutritional standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs.
- To determine the need for a food services advisory committee in a particular school district, a district is to provide a form to students enrolled in the district’s middle schools and high schools to inquire as to whether the student has an unmet food preference. The form will also be available on the school district’s Internet website.
- The bill’s requirements may be suspended for one school year at the discretion of the chief school administrator in the event that 1) no student indicates an unmet food preference on the written or Internet form, or 2) the response of students is de minimis in nature and the food preferences of those students can be met to the satisfaction of the students without a food services advisory committee.
- NJPSA supports the amended legislation which moves the requirement from a building based obligation to a district obligation that may be excused if students are not interested in having a Committee. Schools around the State have implemented these committees organically in the past – this legislation requires schools to examine whether it is something the school community is engaged around
- NJPSA Testimony
- S-2716 (Ruiz) – Requires that school district's request for permission to use unrecognized position title include list of abolished positions and positions in which there have been layoffs and detailed job descriptions for them. (pending intro and referral)
- Under current State Board of Education regulations, N.J.A.C.6A:9B-5.5, if a board of education desires to use an unrecognized position title in the district, the board is required to submit to the executive county superintendent a written request for permission to use the proposed title prior to appointing a candidate. According to the regulation, the request must include a detailed job description for the proposed title. This bill would require that the request also include:
- a list of all positions abolished in the school district in the prior three months, or that will be abolished upon the approval of the unrecognized position title, and
- a detailed job description for each of these positions; and
- a list of all positions in which there have been layoffs in the district in the prior three months, or positions in which there will be layoffs upon the approval of the unrecognized pos1t10n title, and
- a detailed job description for each of these positions.
- In addition, the school district must also include in its request the number of times within the prior three school years that it has submitted a request for permission to use an unrecognized position title.
- If the detailed job description of the proposed unrecognized position title is substantially similar to the detailed job description of an abolished position or a position that will be abolished upon the approval of the unrecognized position title, or a position in which there has been a layoff or in which fuere will be a layoff upon the approval of the unrecognized position title, the executive county superintendent may not approve the unrecognized position. The executive county superintendent will be required to forward the application to the Commissioner of Education, and it will be the commissioner's responsibility to make the final determination on the application.
- NJPSA testified in support of the measure, as striking a balance between flexibility and accountability for employees. NJEA also supports the measure.
- Under current State Board of Education regulations, N.J.A.C.6A:9B-5.5, if a board of education desires to use an unrecognized position title in the district, the board is required to submit to the executive county superintendent a written request for permission to use the proposed title prior to appointing a candidate. According to the regulation, the request must include a detailed job description for the proposed title. This bill would require that the request also include:
- S-2659 (Sacco) – Authorizes county vocational school district to request county improvement authority to construct and issue bonds to finance school facilities project.
- The legislation supplements the “Educational Facilities Construction and Financing Act,” (EFCFA) P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-1 et al.), to allow a county vocational school district to request that a county improvement authority construct and finance a county vocational school district school facilities project that has been approved by the Commissioner of Education in accordance with the provisions of that act. The county improvement authority would issue its bonds to finance either the local share of a project that will receive an up-front grant for the State share of the project under section 15 of the EFCFA or the total costs of a project that is eligible to receive State debt service aid under section 9 of the EFCFA. The bill explicitly provides that bonds issued by a county improvement authority to finance the total costs will be eligible for State debt service aid in accordance with the provisions of that section.
- The bill provides that a county vocational school district may lease its lands or facilities to the county improvement authority which will construct the project through a design-build contract. The bill stipulates that the provisions of the “Public School Contracts Law,” N.J.S.18A:18A-1 et seq., and the “Local Public Contracts Law,” P.L.1971 c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.), will not be applicable to a county vocational school district school facilities project that is constructed by a county improvement authority.
- Under the bill’s provisions, the county improvement authority will lease the county vocational school district school facilities project to the county which will then lease it for nominal consideration to the county vocational school district. The county lease payments made to the county improvement authority will not be subject to any cap on appropriations or spending or to any tax levy cap. The county lease payments must be sufficient to pay the debt service on the county improvement authority bonds that remains after the application of any State debt service aid paid on those bonds. When the bonds of the county improvement authority are no longer outstanding, the leases and liens of the county and the county improvement authority will expire and the school facilities project will be solely vested in the county vocational school district.
- NJPSA supports this legislation
Monitoring Legislation
In addition, the Committee took testimony on several bills for which the Association is monitoring action.
- S-2712 / A-1499 (Barnes, III / DeAngelo / Wimberly / Pinkin) – Requires school business administrator to annually report to board of education on district contracts.
- The legislation imposes new reporting requirements on school business administrators in order to ensure that a school district is in compliance with all federal and State laws, rules, and regulations relating to district contracts. Specifically, the legislation directs the school business administrator to submit a written report to the board of education on school district contracts by July 1 of each school year. Under the bill, the report must include:
- a list of all district contracts that will be awarded, subject to renewal, or expire during the school year; and
- an explanation of all applicable federal and State laws, rules, and regulations relating to those contracts.
- The bill also provides that prior to the execution, extension, or renewal of a school district contract that was not included in the report, the school business administrator must notify the board of all applicable federal and State laws, rules, and regulations relating to the contract.
- The legislation imposes new reporting requirements on school business administrators in order to ensure that a school district is in compliance with all federal and State laws, rules, and regulations relating to district contracts. Specifically, the legislation directs the school business administrator to submit a written report to the board of education on school district contracts by July 1 of each school year. Under the bill, the report must include:
- S-295 (Rice) – Requires board of education to provide an individual textbook for each student enrolled in a class.
- The legislation requires that a board of education of a school district provide an individual textbook for each student enrolled in each class in the district which uses a textbook. The bill defines a textbook as any book, workbook or manual, or electronic textbook intended as the principal source of study for a given class. The purpose of the bill is to address the concern raised by the parents of students in some school districts that not all of the students in a particular class are being issued a textbook.