Bill Text: NJ A356 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DOE to submit evaluation report to Legislature prior to fully implementing secondary education redesign proposal.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A356 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A356-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex)
Assemblywoman JOAN M. VOSS
District 38 (Bergen)
Assemblyman RUBEN J. RAMOS, JR.
District 33 (Hudson)
Assemblywoman VALERIE VAINIERI HUTTLE
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblywoman ELEASE EVANS
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Diegnan, Assemblywoman Wagner and Assemblyman Coutinho
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOE to submit evaluation report to Legislature prior to fully implementing secondary education redesign proposal.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning high school graduation requirements.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New Jersey Secondary Education Redesign Review Act."
2. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. The State of New Jersey has a paramount interest in ensuring that all public school students have the opportunity to receive an education that prepares them to participate as citizens in our democracy and compete effectively in the future economy;
b. The Department of Education has proposed a secondary education redesign plan that includes a series of new course and assessment mandates that would significantly increase the academic requirements for obtaining a State-endorsed high school diploma in the State of New Jersey;
c. These additional course and assessment mandates would place significant new burdens and costs on public schools, school districts, students, communities, and the State;
d. In order for the proposal to be successful in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to receive a high quality education, the mandates must be supported by adequate and efficient use of resources, appropriate State support and technical assistance, and timely evaluation of program implementation and reform efforts;
e. Effective June 2, 2008, the Commissioner of Education promulgated regulations that require students entering the 9th grade in the 2008-2009 school year to successfully complete coursework in laboratory biology, Algebra I, and four years of college preparatory English to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma;
f. The Department of Education has proposed to the State Board of Education amendments to current regulations that would require students entering the 9th grade in the 2010-2011 school year to successfully complete coursework in geometry, laboratory chemistry, and an additional laboratory science to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma. The proposed amendments would also require students entering the 9th grade in the 2012-2013 school year to successfully complete coursework in Algebra II to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma;
g. The proposed amendments to the current regulations would also implement the use of competency assessments that students may be required to pass to graduate from high school;
h. To date, the Department of Education has not released any analysis assessing the potential impact of these new course requirements and assessments on schools and districts, nor has it released any cost estimates of implementing the new course requirements and competency assessments;
i. In its cost analysis of a similar secondary school reform initiative, the Connecticut Department of Education estimated that the full implementation of the proposal would cost the state more than $330 million over eight years, with additional costs incurred by local school districts;
j. In the spring of 2008, New Jersey administered a pilot assessment in Algebra II to nearly 10,000 students. On average, New Jersey students scored 21 out of a possible 76 points, or approximately 29 percent of the total possible points. These results suggest that requiring all students to pass such an exam to receive a diploma may have a significant adverse impact on students' ability to complete high school;
k. Since these new course requirements are likely to have a significant impact on local school districts' budgets as well as graduation and dropout rates, it is essential that the commissioner, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Education only proceed with the full implementation after a thorough review and evaluation of the effects of the course requirements that have already been initiated;
l. It is also imperative that no student be required to pass a competency assessment to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma until the Department of Education has demonstrated that all students have access to the qualified teaching personnel and academic support necessary to prepare the students for such assessments.
3. As used in this act, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:
"Competency assessment" means an assessment used to determine student achievement of specific high school content delineated by the Core Curriculum Content Standards.
"Phase I mandated courses" means the courses that students entering the 9th grade during the 2008-2009 school year and each subsequent school year shall be required to complete successfully to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Education effective June 2, 2008 and shall include laboratory biology, Algebra I, and four years of college preparatory English.
"Phase II mandated courses" means the courses that students entering the 9th grade during the 2010-2011 school year and each subsequent school year shall be required to complete successfully to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma upon promulgation of regulations proposed by the Department of Education to the State Board of Education and shall include laboratory chemistry, an additional laboratory science course, and geometry.
"Phase III mandated course" means the course that students entering the 9th grade during the 2012-2013 school year and each subsequent school year shall be required to complete successfully to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma upon promulgation of regulations proposed by the Department of Education to the State Board of Education and shall include Algebra II.
4. No later than January 30, 2010, the Commissioner of Education submit to the Legislature, pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), a report reviewing and assessing the initial implementation of the secondary education redesign initiative. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. The number and percent of school districts that were required to increase local graduation requirements as a result of the implementation of the Phase I mandated courses. The information shall be reported by district factor group;
b. The change in the number of high school students enrolled in the Phase I mandated courses between the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years;
c. The percent of students enrolled in each of the Phase I mandated courses who received a passing grade in the course during the 2008-2009 school year. This information shall be reported by school district and district factor group;
d. A statistical summary of student performance on any competency assessment administered during or after the 2007-2008 school year. The summary may include the percent of students who passed the competency assessment, the percent of total points earned by students, or any other suitable quantitative measure of student performance. The information shall be reported by school district and district factor group;
e. Analysis comparing students' course grades in the Phase I mandated courses and the students' performance on any corresponding competency assessment;
f. Based on information reported by school districts, an estimate of the change in expenditures required for additional personnel, equipment, facilities, and professional development to enroll students in the Phase I mandated courses during the 2008-2009 school year;
g. The number of vacant positions for science and math teachers, the number of science and math classes that were taught by a teacher not certified in that content area, and the number of science and math classes taught by a substitute teacher for a total of at least 20 school days during the 2008-2009 school year due to a vacancy in the teaching position. The information shall be reported by school district and district factor group;
h. An estimate of unmet need with respect to personnel, professional development, and facilities required to make the Phase I mandated courses available to all affected students;
i. An identification of successful intervention strategies, initiatives, and support programs implemented by school districts to improve student performance in the Phase I mandated courses;
j. Based on information obtained from the evaluation, an estimate of the additional expenditures required for personnel, professional development, and facilities needed to successfully implement the proposed Phase II mandated courses, Phase III mandated course, and full implementation of any recommended competency assessment.
5. The Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education shall not promulgate additional regulations implementing the Phase II mandated courses, Phase III mandated course, or requiring students to pass any competency assessment to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma unless the report submitted pursuant to section 4 of this act demonstrates that school districts have the capacity to implement the requirements.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require that the Commissioner of Education submit an evaluation report on the impact of the initial implementation of the secondary education redesign proposal prior to establishing additional course and assessment mandates. The Department of Education's redesign proposal includes additional courses that students would be required to pass in order to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma. Under the department's proposal, the course requirements would be phased-in over a period of five school years. Phase I requires students entering the 9th grade in the 2008-2009 school year and each subsequent school year to successfully complete Algebra I, laboratory biology, and four years of college preparatory English. This phase has been implemented pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Education on June 2, 2008. The State Board of Education is currently reviewing amendments to existing regulations that, upon adoption by the State Board of Education, would further increase graduation requirements. Phase II would require students entering the 9th grade in the 2010-2011 school year and each subsequent school year to successfully complete geometry, laboratory chemistry, and an additional laboratory science course, and Phase III would require students entering the 9th grade during the 2012-2013 school year and each subsequent school year to successfully complete Algebra II. The proposal would also require that students take a competency assessment for certain courses that may become a requirement for high school graduation.
To date, the Department of Education has not provided an analysis of the potential impacts of these new requirements in critical areas such as State and local school district budgets and graduation rates. This bill requires that the Department of Education submit an evaluation report to the Legislature no later than January 30, 2010 that assesses the impact of the implementation of the Phase I course mandates. The report will include information on the number of students taking the Phase I mandated courses in the 2008-2009 school year, student performance in these classes and on applicable competency assessments, information regarding the supply of appropriately credentialed math and science teachers and other resources needed to successfully implement the initiative, estimates of additional resources that were needed to implement the Phase I mandated courses, estimates of the resources that would be needed to implement the Phase II mandated courses, the Phase III mandated course, and the cost associated with implementing the full array of competency assessments. Under the bill, the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education cannot promulgate additional regulations to increase course requirements (Phase II and Phase III) or to require students to pass competency assessments to receive a State-endorsed high school diploma unless the report demonstrates that school districts have the capacity to implement the new mandates.
