The New Jersey State Board of Education heard updates and took action on the following matters at its Aug. 7 meeting:
- Appointment of personnel: The State Board appointed the following individuals to the positions listed below:
- Samantha Price, assistant commissioner, Division of Legal and External Services.
- David Corso, assistant commissioner, Division of Finance and Business Services.
- Allie Cobb, director, Office of Charter and Renaissance Schools.
- State Advisory Council appointments: The State Board appointed or reappointed 15 individuals to the State Special Education Advisory Council, a body required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to be an advisory council regarding the promulgation of rules, regulations and the implementation of N.J.A.C. 6A:14 and the establishment of standards and qualifications for professional personnel. The persons appointed/reappointed are:
- Dr. Paul Barbato.
- Jocelyn Gottlieb.
- Dr. Harold Abraham.
- John Worthington.
- Dr. Pam Brillante.
- Dr. Dorothy McMullen.
- Elizabeth Alves.
- Dr. Peggy McDonald.
- Scott Longazel.
- Dr. Cynthia DeFina.
- Jennifer Vecchiarelli.
- Gladasia Trotman.
- Amanda Villamar.
- Diane Perez.
- Sonya Bertini.
- Update to mathematics curriculum implementation schedule: The State Board adopted a resolution delaying by one year the implementation of the mathematics student learning standards to September 2025. The English language arts standards would continue to be implemented by September 2024, but mathematics would be delayed to 2025. In adopting this resolution, the State Board acknowledged the planning and fiscal challenges that school districts have been facing in rewriting curriculum aligned to the requirements of the 2023 NJSLS in a manner that results in a robust and viable instructional resource.
- The State Board adopted updated regulations pertaining to student residency. These rules establish procedures for districts to determine students’ eligibility to attend a particular school district free of charge based on the student’s residency. The rules establish the process for charging tuition for students who are ineligible for free attendance, and, in accordance with P.L.2023, c.61, removes the language at N.J.A.C. 6A:22-2.2 that allows school districts to admit nonresident students free of charge. The proposal also repeals N.J.A.C. 6A:22-3.2(h)8, which states that a district can admit nonresident students without the payment of tuition. The rules include exceptions for nonresident students to attend a school district free of charge under limited circumstances. The new rules would apply only to parent-paid tuition.
- The State Board also continued its process to update the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum regulations. You can view a detailed presentation on the updates here. NJQSAC establishes a comprehensive single accountability system for monitoring and evaluating school districts. Under NJQSAC, school districts are evaluated in five key component areas of school district effectiveness — instruction and program, fiscal management, governance, personnel and operations — to determine the extent to which a thorough and efficient education is being provided to students within the school district. As part of the NJQSAC process, each public school district completes a District Performance Review, a self-assessment tool that measures a school district’s compliance and performance at weighted quality performance indicators in each of the five component areas of school district effectiveness. Proposed amendments at Appendices A and B will redistribute points to equitably apply the evaluation of the performance of all school districts to which the chapter applies, regardless of configuration.The New Jersey Department of Education has proposed to delay the effective date of the proposed amendments to Appendices A and B until July 1, 2025. Therefore, the NJDOE will use the existing District Performance Reviews through the 2024-2025 school year.