Bill Text: NJ S3933 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes School Supervisor Mentorship Pilot Program; appropriates $500,000.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-12-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S3933 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S3933-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes School Supervisor Mentorship Pilot Program; appropriates $500,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the School Supervisor Mentorship Pilot Program and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act, "novice supervisor" means any appropriately certified individual assigned with the responsibility for the direction and guidance of the work of teaching staff members and who is in the first year of employment in a supervisory role.
2. a. The Commissioner of Education shall establish a three-year School Supervisor Mentorship Pilot Program. The purpose of the program shall be to strengthen the school leadership pipeline in school districts, charter schools, and renaissance schools throughout the State by supporting and developing novice supervisors through a one-year mentoring cycle.
b. The commissioner shall develop guidelines for the program. The guidelines shall be based upon the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Policy Board for Educational Administration. The commissioner shall also enter into a partnership with a nonprofit organization with expertise in providing professional learning and mentoring services to school leaders. The nonprofit organization shall administer the program based on the guidelines developed pursuant to this subsection, and the commissioner shall oversee the program.
c. A novice supervisor who wishes to participate in the program shall submit an application to the commissioner in a form and manner determined by the commissioner.
d. The commissioner shall annually select a cohort of novice supervisors to participate in a one-year cycle of the program. The commissioner shall select a new cohort of participants for each year that the program is in operation. To the maximum extent possible, the commissioner shall select participants from school districts, charter schools, and renaissance schools in the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, and shall seek a cross section of participants from urban, suburban, and rural areas.
e. Individuals selected to participate in the program shall be assigned to one of three groups. During the course of the program, each novice supervisor shall meet with a mentor selected by the partnering nonprofit organization for a minimum of 15 hours throughout the school year, and shall participate in additional professional learning opportunities as they are available throughout the one-year cycle.
f. Upon conclusion of the pilot program, the commissioner, in coordination with the partnering nonprofit organization, shall issue a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1) on the effectiveness of the program and recommendations concerning the advisability of the program's continuation. The report shall also include feedback from program mentors and mentees.
3. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Education the sum of $500,000 to effectuate the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Education may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a three-year School Supervisor Mentorship Pilot Program. The program is to strengthen the school leadership pipeline in schools throughout the State by supporting and developing novice supervisors through a one-year mentoring cycle. As defined in the bill, novice supervisor means any appropriately certified individual assigned with the responsibility for the direction and guidance of the work of teaching staff members and who is in the first year of employment in a supervisor role.
The bill requires the Commissioner of Education to develop guidelines for the program. The guidelines are to be based upon the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Policy Board for Educational Administration. The commissioner is to also enter into a partnership with a nonprofit organization with expertise in providing professional learning and mentoring services to school leaders. The bill requires the commissioner to oversee the program, which is to be administered by the nonprofit organization based on the guidelines developed by the commissioner.
Under the bill, a novice supervisor who wishes to participate in the program is to submit an application to the commissioner in a form and manner determined by the commissioner. The commissioner is to annually select a cohort of novice supervisors to participate in a one-year cycle of the program. The commissioner is to select a new cohort of participants for each year that the program is in operation. To the maximum extent possible, the commissioner is to select participants from school districts, charter schools, and renaissance schools in the northern, central, and southern regions of the State, and is to seek a cross section of participants from urban, suburban, and rural areas.
The bill stipulates that individuals selected to participate in the program are to be assigned to one of three groups. During the course of the program, each participant is to meet with a mentor selected by the partnering nonprofit organization for a minimum of 15 hours throughout the school year, and is to participate in additional professional learning opportunities as they are available throughout their one-year cycle.
The bill also requires the commissioner, in coordination with the nonprofit organization, to submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature on the effectiveness of the program and recommendations concerning the advisability of the program's continuation. The report is to also include feedback from program mentors and mentees. Finally, this bill appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Education to implement the provisions of the bill.
