Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Permits use of virtual instruction to meet minimum 180-day school year requirement under certain circumstances.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the school calendar and amending P.L.1996, c.138.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 9 of P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-9) is amended to read as follows:
9. a. In order to receive any State aid pursuant to P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), a school district, county vocational school district, or county special services school district shall comply with the rules and standards for the equalization of opportunity which have been or may hereafter be prescribed by law or formulated by the commissioner pursuant to law, including those implementing P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-1 et al.) and P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.) or related to the core curriculum content standards required by P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), and shall further comply with any directive issued by the commissioner pursuant to section 6 of P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-6). The commissioner is hereby authorized to withhold all or part of a district's State aid for failure to comply with any rule, standard or directive. No State aid shall be paid to any district which has not provided public school facilities for at least 180 days during the preceding school year, but the commissioner, for good cause shown, may remit the penalty.
b. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section to the contrary, in the event that a district is required to close the schools of the district for more than three school days due to weather or other emergency condition, the commissioner shall allow the district to apply to the 180-day requirement established pursuant to subsection a. of this section, one or more days of virtual instruction provided to students on the day or days the schools of the district were closed if the program of virtual instruction meets such criteria as may be established by the commissioner. A district that wants to use a program of virtual instruction to meet the 180-day requirement in accordance with this subsection shall submit its proposed program of virtual instruction to the commissioner by July 1 of each school year.
c. The commissioner shall define virtual instruction and establish guidelines for its use in accordance with the provisions of subsection b. of this section.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.260, s.32)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under current law, a school district, county vocational school district, or county special services school district must be open for 180 days each school year in order to qualify for State aid. In the event that a school district does not meet this requirement, the Commissioner of Education will withhold State aid in the succeeding year. While the law does allow the commissioner to remit the penalty for good cause shown, the exemption has been rarely applied.
This bill would allow a school district, county vocational school district, or county special services school district to meet the 180-day requirement in a year with an excessive number of unexpected school closures due to weather or other emergencies through the use of virtual instruction. Specifically, in the event that a district is required to close its schools for more than three school days due to weather or other emergency condition, the commissioner will allow the district to apply to the 180-day requirement one or more days of virtual instruction provided to students on the day or days the schools of the district were closed if the program meets such criteria as may be established by the commissioner. A district that wants to use a program of virtual instruction to meet the 180-day requirement must submit its proposed program of virtual instruction to the commissioner by July 1 of each school year. The bill directs the commissioner to define virtual instruction and establish guidelines for its use in accordance with the bill's provisions.