Bill Text: NJ A4924 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires school districts to provide instruction on keyboarding.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-10-21 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A4924 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4924-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JESSICA RAMIREZ
District 32 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires school districts to provide instruction on keyboarding.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning instruction on keyboarding in public schools and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Each school district shall incorporate instruction on keyboarding in an appropriate place in the curriculum of students in grades kindergarten through six as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Career Readiness, Life Literacies, and Key Skills. The instruction shall include learning activities and resources designed to ensure a student is able to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting by the end of grade six.
2. This act shall take effect in the first full school year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each school district to incorporate instruction on keyboarding for students in grades kindergarten through six as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Career Readiness, Life Literacies, and Key Skills. The instruction is to include learning activities and resources designed to ensure a student is able to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting by the end of grade six.
Many school districts have removed keyboarding from the curriculum due to students having access to technology prior to entering the State's public schools. According to data from the United States Department of Education, in 2000, nearly 44 percent of high school graduates had taken a formal keyboarding course. By 2019, that number had declined to two and a half percent. Many students utilize tablets and smartphones, and have become dependent on looking down at their hands when using a physical keyboard.
Keyboarding, however, has become a crucial technical skill necessary for success in both school and the workplace. The ability to type increases a student's ability to achieve in environments dependent on technology. Students with better typing skills can score higher on standardized tests as they can focus more on the test content rather than the keyboard. Keyboarding as a part of the curriculum may also help to support digital equity, and provide more equal opportunities in the classroom, as well as career opportunities in the future.
