STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2012 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator THOMAS H. KEAN, JR.
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
Senator KEVIN J. O'TOOLE
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Permits a waiver for high-performing school districts from the State system for monitoring school districts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum and amending P.L.1975, c.212.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 11 of P.L.1975, c.212 (C.18A:7A-11) is amended to read as follows:
11. [Each] a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, each school district and county vocational school district shall make a report of its progress in complying with all of the quality performance indicators adopted pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1975, c.212 (C.18A:7A-10) every three years, pursuant to a schedule to be established by the commissioner. In the years intervening between the district's three-year review, whenever the commissioner determines that conditions exist in a district that significantly and negatively impact the educational program or operations of the district, the commissioner may direct that the department immediately conduct a comprehensive review of the district. Nothing in this section shall preclude the commissioner, in his discretion, from conducting a random review of a school district to assess the district's compliance with the quality performance indicators.
The district reports shall be submitted to the commissioner on a date and in such form as prescribed by the commissioner, who shall make them the basis for an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature, describing the condition of education in New Jersey, the efforts of New Jersey schools in meeting the standards of a thorough and efficient education, the steps underway to correct deficiencies in school performance, and the progress of New Jersey schools in comparison to other state education systems in the United States.
b. The report required every three years pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be waived in the case of a school district or county vocational school district that meets the following two requirements in at least two of the intervening three years between scheduled reports:
(1) the district has a State support ratio of less than 10%; and
(2) 85% or greater of all the students in the district to whom a State assessment was administered have scored proficient or advanced proficient in both the language arts and mathematics subject areas of the State assessments.
(cf: P.L.2007, c.16, s.3)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under the current school district monitoring system, the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum, (NJ QSAC), every school district must submit a report every three years on its progress in complying with all of the quality performance indicators. This bill would provide a waiver for certain high-performing districts from the requirements of NJ QSAC. The bill would permit the waiver if in at least two of the intervening three years between scheduled reports:
--the district has a State support ratio of less than 10%; and
--85% or greater of all the students in the district to whom a State assessment was administered have scored at or above proficient or advanced proficient in both the language arts and mathematics subject areas of the State assessments. A score of "proficient" or "advanced proficient" indicates that a student has a solid understanding of the content measured by the State assessment.
By permitting certain high-performing school districts a waiver from the requirement of NJ QSAC, this bill is intended to provide State regulators the opportunity to focus resources on helping lower performing school districts raise their performance level.