Bill Text: NJ A3068 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Rutgers University to create a liberal studies program for intellectually disabled students; appropriates $500,000.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-05-08 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A3068 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A3068-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblyman DAVID P. RIBLE
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Rutgers University to create a liberal studies program for intellectually disabled students; appropriates $500,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning Rutgers, The State University, supplementing chapters 65 and 71B of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, shall establish a Career and Community Studies program. The program shall be a liberal studies program for intellectually disabled students from ages 18 to 25. The purpose of the program shall be to prepare intellectually disabled students for adult life using a post-secondary experience on a college campus. The program shall provide the students with a combination of academic rigor, career discovery and preparation, and peer socialization, as part of a diverse community of learners, and shall provide for the award of a Career and Community Studies Program Certificate upon completion of the program.
b. The university shall develop an application process and an outreach program that encourages students, who have received special education services while enrolled in a public or nonpublic secondary school and who may have difficulty succeeding in a traditional college degree program, to apply for the program.
c. The university shall consult with The College of New Jersey in the development of the program curriculum leading to a Career and Community Studies Program Certificate.
d. The university shall provide on-campus housing opportunities for students in the Career and Community Studies Program.
e. The university shall apply for grant funds from federal, corporate, and other entities to support the program.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.18A:71B-18 et seq. to the contrary, a student attending the Career and Community Studies Program established pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), or a similar program as determined by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, shall be eligible to receive a State tuition aid grant if the student meets the eligibility requirements for a State tuition aid grant.
3. The university shall submit a report to the Governor, and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), three years after the establishment of the Career and Community Studies Program established pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). The report shall include an overview of the program, funding sources and expenditures, student enrollment data, recommendations for improving the program, and recommendations for the establishment of a similar program at other State colleges and universities.
4. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of State for deposit in a non-lapsing fund, the sum of $500,000 to effectuate the provisions of this act; except that the university shall use no more than $250,000 in the first academic year of the program.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, to establish a Career and Community Studies Program. The program will be a liberal arts program for intellectually disabled students from ages 18 through 25. This program will be modeled after the Career and Community Studies Program at The College of New Jersey, which is the only program of its kind in the State. The purpose of the program is to prepare intellectually disabled students for adult life using a post-secondary experience on a college campus. The program will provide students with a combination of academic rigor, career discovery and preparation, and peer socialization, as part of a diverse community of learners, and will award students a Career and Community Studies Program Certificate upon completion of the program.
The bill provides that Rutgers will develop an application process and an outreach program that encourages students, who have received special education services while enrolled in a public or nonpublic secondary school and who may have difficulty succeeding in a traditional college degree program, to apply for this program. A student attending the Career and Community Studies Program at Rutgers, or a similar program, will be eligible to receive a State tuition aid grant, if the student meets the eligibility requirements.
The bill appropriates $500,000 from the General Fund for Rutgers to establish this program, but no more than $250,000 may be expended for the first academic year of the program.
The sponsor intends for Rutgers University to initially admit 8-10 students per year, similar to the size of each new class of students admitted to the Career and Community Studies Program at The College of New Jersey. In time, the program at Rutgers will grow to admit more students. The sponsor also hopes that the program will be successful so that Rutgers University will be able to encourage the member institutions of the Big Ten Conference to establish a similar program for intellectually disabled students.
