New Jersey-2022-A4890-Introduced

An Act establishing the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program and the Tutoring Advisory Commission and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act, "Local education provider" means a public school district, charter school or renaissance school project, or a partnership between a public school district, charter school or renaissance school project and one or more public school districts, charter schools, renaissance school projects, or nonpublic schools.

2. a. There is established the Tutoring Advisory Commission in, but not of, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. It shall be the purpose of the commission to oversee and evaluate the "High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program" established pursuant to section 4 of this act.

b. The commission shall be comprised of 17 members, as follows:

(1) the Commissioner of Education or a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

(2) a representative of the New Jersey State Board of Education, appointed by the Governor;

(3) a representative of the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools, appointed by the Governor;

(4) a representative of the New Jersey Tutoring Corps, appointed by the Governor;

(5) a representative of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, appointed by the Governor; and

(6) 12 members from the following list, of which four members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, four members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, two members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate and two members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the General Assembly:

(a) a teacher representative;

(b) a parent representative;

(d) a charter or renaissance school representative;

(e) a nonpublic school representative;

(f) a school administrator;

(g) a representative of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association;

(h) a representative from an educator preparation program;

(i) a representative with experience working with or advocating for SDA districts, as defined in section 3 of P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-3);

(j) a representative with experience working in special education;

(k) a representative with experience administering tutoring programs; and

(l) a representative from an afterschool or summer community program provider.

c. Members of the commission shall be appointed no later than 45 days following the date of enactment of this act. Members shall serve five year terms of appointment. Any vacancy in the membership shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

d. The commission shall organize as soon as practicable, but not more than 45 days after the appointment of a majority of its members. Upon its organization, the commission shall select a chairperson from among its membership, and the chairperson shall appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the commission.

e. The commission shall meet at the times and places designated by the chair, but not less than twice per year. The commission may conduct business without a quorum, but may only vote on recommendations when a quorum is present.

f. The members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and other miscellaneous expenses incurred in the necessary performance of their duties, within the limits of funds made available to the commission for its purposes.

g. The department shall provide professional, stenographic, and clerical staff, support, and resources to the commission, as may be necessary to ensure the proper effectuation of the commission's duties under this act. The department may hire staff necessary for the function of the commission, including at least two full-time equivalent positions to review, approve, and advise on tutoring programs and commission operations.

h. The commission shall maintain an Internet website which shall provide, at a minimum, grant application procedures, grant selection criteria, and any reports produced pursuant to section 8 of this act.

3. The duties of the Tutoring Advisory Commission shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:

a. developing and releasing program guidelines and a grant application process;

b. reviewing and approving applications to participate in the grant program;

c. establishing criteria and standards for determining the success of the grant program;

d. providing guidance and support to local education providers establishing new tutoring programs as part of the grant program;

e. evaluating the performance of participating local education providers to determine if the tutoring programs meet the criteria needed to earn a satisfactory rating;

f. working with local education providers whose tutoring programs do not meet the criteria needed to earn a satisfactory rating, and assisting the local education providers in revising the tutoring programs to ensure program improvement to become eligible to participate in the grant program again; and

g. preparing and submitting reports to the Governor and the Legislature regarding the outcomes of the grant program pursuant to section 8 of this act.

The commission shall treat any information received in the course of its duties that may contain personally identifiable information regarding students, parents, and others from whom information is acquired, as confidential.

4. a. The Tutoring Advisory Commission shall establish and administer the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program. The purpose of the program shall be to provide high-impact tutoring opportunities to students around the State in order to mitigate the effect of learning loss or interrupted learning as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

b. The grant program shall support high-impact tutoring programs implemented by local education providers. The tutoring programs shall meet, at a minimum, the following criteria:

(1) tutoring shall be offered in English language arts and mathematics and shall be offered to students in all grades taught by the local education provider from preschool through grade 12;

(2) tutoring groups shall contain no more than five students;

(3) tutoring groups shall meet at least three times per week;

(4) tutoring shall occur at a time and in a setting that facilitates and promotes learning;

(5) tutoring groups shall be led by high-quality trained tutors;

(6) to the greatest extent possible, tutoring groups shall be led by the same tutor throughout the marking period, or its equivalent; and

(7) tutoring shall be data-driven and the program shall include interim assessments to monitor students' progress.

c. A local education provider may partner with a nonprofit organization or a community-based organization, provided that:

(1) the organization implements a tutoring program;

(2) the organization applies for a grant on behalf of the local education provider; and

(3) the local education provider contributes at least 50 percent of the funding for the tutoring program.

d. Tutoring programs may be offered during school hours and on school premises or as after school or before school programs. Tutoring programs also may be offered over the summer. The grant program shall encourage local education providers to think creatively about the scheduling of tutoring sessions. Tutoring sessions shall supplement, not replace, classroom learning.

e. A student who is designated by a participating local education provider as underperforming, or who is not meeting grade-level expectations in the subjects for which the district offers high-impact tutoring, shall automatically be enrolled to participate in the tutoring program. A parent or guardian may opt their child out of the program. Local education providers shall provide the parents or guardians of an underperforming student who opts out of the high-impact tutoring program with additional resources to address learning loss. Students who are meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations in the subjects for which the district offers high-impact tutoring shall have the opportunity to opt in to the tutoring program.

5. a. A local education provider wishing to participate in the grant program shall submit an application to the Tutoring Advisory Commission in a form prescribed by the commission. An application shall include, but not limited to:

(1) a detailed description of the tutoring program and how it addresses the elements of a high-impact tutoring program described in section 4 of this act;

(2) a list of the subjects and grade levels to be available for tutoring;

(3) a description of how tutoring shall be delivered and how the delivery accommodates the possibility of virtual or remote instruction;

(4) information about whether tutors will follow a prescribed curriculum;

(5) a description of how tutoring will be incorporated into daily learning, if tutoring is intended to be scheduled during the school day;

(6) a description of the goals of the program and a method of measuring student academic success and program outcomes;

(7) a description of the methods to be used to identify underperforming students for participation in the tutoring program;

(8) the number of students able to be supported by the tutoring program and the number of students expected to participate, if different;

(9) a description of how tutoring groups will be formed;

(10) a description of how the local education provider intends to recruit and support tutors;

(11) whether the local education provider intends to create a new tutoring program or partner with an existing community provider;

(12) the projected per pupil and aggregate cost of implementing the tutoring program; and

(13) any other information the commission deems necessary.

b. Grant awards shall be allocated to local education providers on a competitive basis, in a manner to be determined by the commission. In determining grant recipients, the commission shall consider, at minimum, the local education provider's plan with respect to the alignment with elements of high impact tutoring programs, the potential number of students impacted by the program, the need of the local education provider to supplement classroom learning to address learning loss, and the estimated cost of implementing the program by the local education provider. The commission shall give preference to applications for programs that:

(1) are planned to function for more than five years and can continue to operate beyond the duration of the grant;

(2) occur within regular school hours; or

(3) partner with a certified educator preparation program within the State to utilize teaching candidates as tutors.

c. To the extent possible, the commission shall select grant recipients from the northern, central and southern regions of the State, and shall seek a cross section of local education providers from urban, suburban, and rural areas.

6. a. Local education providers may employ as tutors under the grant program: public or nonpublic school teachers, paraprofessionals, or school administrative staff; community providers of tutoring services; AmeriCorps members; candidates in certified educator preparation programs; or any other individual with training to provide tutoring services. Local education providers shall have authority over who may be hired as a tutor under the program and may partner with community providers of tutoring services.

Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.52:14-7 to the contrary, any individual hired as a tutor under the grant program shall not be required to have or maintain a principal residence in the State unless required to do so as a condition of another position of employment. Individuals employed as tutors under the grant program shall be required to adhere to all laws relating to the health and safety of students and all anti-discrimination laws.

b. The Tutoring Advisory Commission is encouraged to provide information about teaching pathways to individuals employed as tutors under the grant program.

7. The Tutoring Advisory Commission shall develop and release program guidelines and a grant application process for the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program within 90 days of the appointment of a majority of the members of the commission.

8. a. Any local education provider participating in the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program shall conduct an annual evaluation of the tutoring program implemented according to the criteria developed by the Tutoring Advisory Commission pursuant to section 3 of this act. The evaluation shall include a report that provides the following information:

(1) the number of students who participated in the tutoring program and non-identifying demographic information;

(2) academic achievement results of participating students;

(3) the impact of student outcomes after participating in the tutoring program;

(4) a description of how the local education provider maintained consistent access to tutoring sessions for all participating students;

(5) a breakdown of the use of any grant funding provided;

(6) a description of any adjustments made to the program plan submitted in the application, why the adjustments were necessary, and the outcome of the adjustments; and

(7) any other information deemed necessary by the commission.

The report shall be made publicly available on the local education provider's Internet website in a timely manner.

b. Any local education provider whose tutoring program does not meet the standards necessary to earn a satisfactory rating based on the criteria established by the commission pursuant to section 3 of this act shall be ineligible to be a recipient of the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant unless the local education provider works with the commission to ensure program improvement and become eligible.

c. No later than July 31 following the completion of the first year of the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program, the Tutoring Advisory Commission shall submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature. The report shall contain a summary of Statewide program results and guidelines for best practices and shall be distributed to all public school districts, charter schools, renaissance schools, and nonpublic schools and posted on the commission's Internet website.

d. No later than July 31 following the completion of the fifth year of the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program, the Tutoring Advisory Commission shall submit a report to the Governor and, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), to the Legislature. The report shall describe the impacts of COVID-19 related learning loss in the State, the impacts of accelerated learning programs intended to address learning loss, including the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program, and recommendations for policies to continue implementing accelerated learning programs.

9. a. There is created a non-lapsing, revolving fund known as the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Fund. All monies annually appropriated by the Legislature, any federal or other grants received by the State, and any other monies made available for the purposes of the grant program shall be deposited in the fund. Monies deposited in the fund shall be used by the Tutoring Advisory Commission to provide funding for grants awarded under the grant program.

b. Grant funds shall be awarded to participating local education providers on a matching basis, subject to the limits of available funding. Per student costs proposed by the local education providers for supplemental tutoring programs scheduled during the school day and on school premises shall be matched at 100 percent. Per student costs proposed by the local education providers for tutoring programs scheduled before or after school hours or during the summer shall be matched at 50 percent. Any matching funds that are unexpended at the end of the State fiscal year shall revert to the State.

c. The commission shall determine allowable uses for grant funds prior to accepting applications to participate in the grant program and shall describe the allowable uses in a Notice of Grant Opportunity.

10. The Tutoring Advisory Commission may utilize any federal or State funds allocated for the remediation of COVID-19 related learning loss, and any federal or State funds which are available for accelerated learning or workforce development programs for the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program. The Legislature may appropriate additional funds to the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Fund as it may deem necessary. The commission shall be authorized to seek and accept gifts, grants or donations from private or public sources for deposit in the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Fund, except that the commission may not accept a gift, grant, or donation that is subject to conditions that are inconsistent with any other law of this State.

11. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would establish the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program to provide high-impact tutoring opportunities to students in the State in order to mitigate the effect of learning loss or interrupted learning as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The bill would also establish the Tutoring Advisory Commission, which would oversee and evaluate the grant program.

The High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program would support local education providers, defined as a public school district, charter school or renaissance school project, or a partnership between a public school district, charter school or renaissance school project and one or more public school districts, charter schools, renaissance school projects, or nonpublic schools, in creating and implementing high-impact tutoring programs.

Each tutoring program would be required to meet certain minimum criteria, including: (1) offering tutoring in English language arts and mathematics and in all grade levels taught by the district; (2) placing no more than five students in each tutoring group; (3) providing tutoring at least three times per week; (4) providing tutoring at a time and in a setting which facilitates and promotes learning; (5) providing high-quality trained tutors; (6) ensuring that tutors remain the same, to the greatest extent possible, for each group throughout the marking period, or its equivalent; and (7) using data and interim assessments to monitor student progress. Tutoring programs could be offered during school hours on school premises or as after or before school programs, or as summer programs. Students designated as underperforming by the local education provider, or who are not meeting grade level expectations, would be automatically enrolled in the tutoring program, and other students would have the ability to opt in. Parents or guardians would have the ability to opt their child out of the program.

A local education provider wishing to participate in the grant program would submit an application to the Tutoring Advisory Commission in a manner prescribed by the commission. The application would be required to include: (1) a detailed description of the tutoring program; (2) a list of subjects and grade levels to be taught; (3) a description of how tutoring would be delivered and accommodations for remote learning; (4) information about whether tutors would follow a prescribed curriculum; (5) a description of how tutoring would be incorporated into daily learning if offered during the school day; (6) a description of program goals and method of measuring student academic success and program outcomes; (7) a description of the methods to be used to identify underperforming students; (8) the number of students able to participate in the program; (9) a description of how tutoring groups will be formed; (10) a description of methods to recruit and support tutors; (11) information about whether the local education provider intends to create a new tutoring program or partner with an existing community provider; and (12) the projected per pupil and aggregate cost of implementing the tutoring program. The commission would select grant recipients on a competitive basis, but would give preference to programs that are set up to function for more than five years and could continue beyond the duration of the grant, programs that occur within regular school hours, or programs the partner with a certified educator preparation program within the State to utilize teaching candidates as tutors.

Under the bill, local education providers would be allowed to employ as tutors under the grant program: public or nonpublic school teachers, paraprofessionals, or school administrative staff; community providers of tutoring services; AmeriCorps members; candidates in certified educator preparation programs; or any other individual with training to provide tutoring services. Tutors would not be subject to the New Jersey First Act but would be required to adhere to all laws relating to the health and safety of students and all antidiscrimination laws. The Tutoring Advisory Commission would be encouraged to provide information about teaching pathways to individuals employed as tutors.

The bill would also establish the Tutoring Advisory Commission in, but not of, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The commission would establish, implement and evaluate the grant program. The commission would be comprised of 17 members, including the Commissioner of Education or a designee, a representative from the New Jersey State Board of Education, a representative from the New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools, a representative of the New Jersey Tutoring Corps, a representative of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, and 12 members appointed by the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the General Assembly, the Minority Leader of the Senate and the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. Members of the commission would serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for certain expenses incurred in the necessary performance of their duties. The department would provide staff, support, and resources to the commission, and the department would be permitted to hire staff necessary for the function of the commission, including at least two full-time equivalent positions to review, approve and advise on tutoring programs and commission operations.

The duties of the Tutoring Advisory Commission would include:

(1) developing and releasing program guidelines and a grant application process; (2) reviewing and approving applications to participate in the grant program; (3) establishing criteria and standards for determining the success of the grant program; (4) providing guidance and support to local education providers developing new tutoring programs; (5) evaluating the performance of participating local education providers; (6) working with local education providers whose tutoring programs do not meet the criteria needed to earn a satisfactory rating to ensure program improvement; and (7) preparing and submitting reports to the Governor and the Legislature regarding the outcomes of the grant program.

The bill would require local education providers to report certain information about the implementation of the tutoring program to the Tutoring Advisory Commission and would require the commission to submit certain reports to the Governor and the Legislature.

The bill would establish a fund for the grant program and stipulates that grants would be awarded on a matching basis, within the limits of available funds. The bill would permit the Tutoring Advisory Commission to utilize any federal or State funds allocated for the remediation of COVID-19 related learning loss, and any federal or State funds which are available for accelerated learning or workforce development programs for the High Efficiency Accelerated Learning Grant Program, and would permit the commission to seek and accept certain gifts, grants, and donations.

The COVID-19 public health emergency impacted learning for all students and is likely to have long-term educational and economic impacts on current students of all ages. The effects of the public health emergency have worsened pre-pandemic trends of growing disparities in learning outcomes between the highest and lowest-performing schools. Research shows that accelerated learning programs, also called high-dosage tutoring, are the most effective tool for mitigating learning loss. It is the sponsor's belief that the State must invest in learning recovery efforts in order to ensure all students receive a thorough and efficient education.

In addition to the COVID-19 public health emergency, schools throughout the State have been affected by teacher shortages. It is the sponsor's belief that tutoring programs that are embedded in the classroom and partner with teacher preparation programs can both reduce teachers' workload burdens and increase a teaching candidate's preparedness for being in the classroom, and consequently these programs are an invaluable workforce development tool. It is also the sponsor's belief that a well-established tutor-to-teacher pipeline can help keep teachers in the profession and attract teaching candidates to the State.