ASSEMBLY, No. 1361

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

221st LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman  CHRISTOPHER P. DEPHILLIPS

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

     Requires legislative approval of updates or revisions to core curriculum content.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning the core curriculum content standards and amending P.L.2007, c.260.

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

     1.    Section 4 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-46) is amended to read as follows:

     4.    a.  The State Board of Education shall review and update the core curriculum content standards every five years.  The standards shall ensure that all children are provided the educational opportunity needed to equip them for the role of citizen and labor market competitor. Any update or revision made to the core curriculum content standards following the effective date of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall require the approval of the Legislature.  The State board shall submit the update or revision to the Legislature, and the Legislature shall adopt a concurrent resolution within 45 days of submission to approve or disapprove the update or revision.  In the event that the Legislature adopts a concurrent resolution to approve the update or revision, it shall be implemented.  In the event that the Legislature adopts a concurrent resolution to disapprove the update or revision, it shall not be implemented.

     The Commissioner of Education shall develop and establish, through the report issued pursuant to subsection b. of this section, efficiency standards which define the types of programs, services, activities, and materials necessary to achieve a thorough and efficient education.

     b.    By September 1 of 2010 and by September 1 every three years thereafter, the Governor, after consultation with the commissioner, shall recommend to the Legislature through the issuance of the Educational Adequacy Report for the three school years to which the report is applicable:

     (1)   the base per pupil amount based upon the core curriculum content standards established pursuant to subsection a. of this section;

     (2)   the per pupil amounts for full-day preschool;

     (3)   the weights for grade level, county vocational school districts, at-risk pupils, bilingual pupils, and combination pupils;

     (4)   the cost coefficients for security aid and transportation aid;

     (5)   the State average classification rate for general special education services pupils and for speech-only pupils;

     (6)   the excess cost for general special education services pupils and for speech-only pupils; and

     (7)   the extraordinary special education aid thresholds.

     The base per pupil amount, the per pupil amounts for full-day preschool, the excess costs for general special education services pupils and for speech-only pupils, and the cost-coefficients for security aid and transportation aid shall be adjusted by the CPI for each of the two school years following the first school year to which the report is applicable.

     The amounts shall be deemed approved for the three successive fiscal years beginning from the subsequent July 1, unless between the date of transmittal and the subsequent November 30, the Legislature adopts a concurrent resolution stating that the Legislature is not in agreement with all or any specific part of the report.  The concurrent resolution shall advise the Governor of the Legislature's specific objections to the report and shall direct the commissioner to submit to the Legislature a revised report which responds to those objections by January 1.

(cf: P.L.2007, c.260, s.4)

     2.    This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

     This bill requires legislative approval of updates or revisions to core curriculum content standards.

     Under current law, the State Board of Education is directed to review and update the core curriculum content standards every five years.  This bill provides that any update or revision made to the core curriculum content standards following the bill's effective date will require the approval of the Legislature.  The State board is required to submit the update or revision to the Legislature, and the Legislature is required to adopt a concurrent resolution within 45 days of submission to approve or disapprove the update or revision.  If the Legislature adopts a concurrent resolution to approve the update or revision, it is required to be implemented.  If the Legislature adopts a concurrent resolution to disapprove the update or revision, it may not be implemented.