Bill Text: NJ A467 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the Preschool Through Grade 20 Council; appropriates $500,000.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-12 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A467 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A467-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOAN M. VOSS
District 38 (Bergen)
Assemblyman PATRICK J. DIEGNAN, JR.
District 18 (Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes the Preschool Through Grade 20 Council; appropriates $500,000.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act establishing the Preschool Through Grade 20 Council and making an appropriation.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Nationwide, the percent of high school students intending to continue education after high school is approximately 90%, greater than at any time in history.
b. Our society faces serious challenges in the provision of education, including changes in demographics such as shifts in the composition of the school-age population, the need for increased levels of education to insure success in the workplace, and changes in the workplace which require workers with different skill sets.
c. The challenge our society faces comes as well from comparisons with the advances in education being made in other countries in the world where:
(1) one country after another has surpassed the United States in the proportion of its entering workforce with the equivalent of a high school education;
(2) in contrast to 30 years ago when the United States had 30% of the world's population of college graduates, that percent is now 14%;
(3) American workers face competition from workers in other countries, at every skill level, who are willing to work for relatively lower wages;
(4) outsourcing is not going to be eliminated;
(5) jobs subject to automation, once only low-skilled jobs, now include any job involving routine work;
(6) to compete effectively on the international scene, in addition to having strong skills in traditional subjects, students will need to be comfortable with ideas and abstractions, be capable at both analysis and synthesis, and be able to learn quickly and work well as a member of a team; and
(7) continuation with our current structures and practices for education will, in the long term, subject our nation to a steadily falling standard of living and perhaps, at some point, lead investors to seek other countries from which to get a greater return on their investment.
d. The existing design and structure of public education reflects a disconnection between three systems, preschool, K-12 school districts, and colleges and universities.
e. Greater collaboration between earlier education and college offers many benefits, including:
(1) students who are better prepared for college;
(2) alignment of State standards with college admissions;
(3) reduction in the need for college remediation; and
(4) improvement of teacher preparation.
f. At least 24 states have some form of kindergarten or preschool through grade 16 or 20 partnership, the experiences of which can be used to address the issue of increased educational alignment in this State.
2. a. There is established the Preschool Through Grade 20 Council in, but not of, the Department of Education. The council shall consist of 29 members as follows: 19 members appointed by the Governor including: six public members; one member selected from among recommendations made by Rutgers, the State University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; one member selected from among recommendations made by the State colleges and universities established pursuant to chapter 64 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes; one member selected from among recommendations made by the county colleges; one member representing the early childhood education community; one member representing the county vocational school districts; one member representing the independent institutions of higher education; one member representing the proprietary institutions offering post secondary education degrees; one member jointly recommended by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce; and one member from each of the following organizations: the New Jersey Education Association; the American Association of University Professors; the New Jersey State Federation of Teachers; the New Jersey School Boards Association; and the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; three members appointed by the President of the Senate, one public member, and two members of the Senate no more than one of whom shall be from the same political party; three members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly, one public member, and two members of the General Assembly no more than one of whom shall be from the same political party; the chairperson of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, ex officio, or a designee; the Commissioner of Education, ex officio, or a designee; the Commissioner of Human Services, ex officio, or a designee; and the executive director of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, ex officio, or a designee. The executive director of the council shall be a non-voting member of the council.
b. Each member of the council appointed by the Governor and the public members appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly shall be appointed for a three-year term, but of the members first appointed by the Governor, eight shall be appointed for a term of three years, six shall be appointed for a term of two years, and five shall be appointed for a term of one year, and the public members first appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly shall be appointed for a term of two years.
c. Appointments to the council shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of this act. Each member appointed by the Governor and each public member appointed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the General Assembly shall hold office for the term of appointment and until his successor is appointed and qualified. A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring in the membership of the council for any reason other than the expiration of the term shall have a term of appointment for the unexpired term only. Vacancies in the membership of the council shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments are made. A member may be appointed for any number of successive terms. Any member appointed by the Governor and any public member appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly may be removed from office by the Governor, for cause, after a hearing and may be suspended by the Governor pending the completion of the hearing. Members of the council shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to this act.
d. The council shall organize within 30 days after the appointment of its members upon the call of the chairperson. The chairperson shall be appointed by the Governor from among the public members. The council shall select a vice-chairperson from among its members, and a secretary who need not be a member of the council.
e. The council shall appoint an executive director and such other personnel as may be deemed necessary. The executive director and professional staff shall serve at the council's pleasure and shall receive such compensation as provided by law.
3. It shall be the duty of the council to:
a. examine the structure and design of the current system of public education by which preschool through college and university education is provided;
b. consider the findings of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce contained in its report, "Tough Choices or Tough Times," and develop recommendations related to the report;
c. examine the efforts of other states to achieve a cohesive and aligned preschool through grade 20 system of public education;
d. provide a listing of the component parts that make up a preschool through grade 20 public education system, develop the structure and design of such a system, and compile information on the policy issues associated with integrating the component parts into a cohesive and aligned preschool through grade 20 public education system, such as standards, testing, teacher education, college admissions policies, governance, funding streams and competition among institutions; and
e. explore possible ways that the component parts of the current educational system can collaborate to provide students with a more cohesive and integrated system, and facilitate that collaboration.
4. No later than six months following its organizational meeting, the council shall issue a report containing its initial findings and any recommendations it deems appropriate to the Governor and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1). The council shall report to the Governor and the Legislature at least annually thereafter and may communicate findings and recommendations at any other time it deems appropriate.
5. There is appropriated from the General Fund $500,000 to the Department of Education for the Preschool Through Grade 20 Council.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Preschool Through Grade 20 Council in, but not of, the Department of Education. The council will consist of 29 members as follows: 19 members appointed by the Governor including: six public members; one member selected from among recommendations made by Rutgers, the State University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; one member selected from among recommendations made by the nine State colleges and universities; one member selected from among recommendations made by the county colleges; one member representing the early childhood education community; one member representing the county vocational school districts; one member representing the independent institutions of higher education; one member representing the proprietary institutions offering post secondary education degrees; one member jointly recommended by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce; and one member from each of the following organizations: the New Jersey Education Association; the American Association of University Professors; the New Jersey State Federation of Teachers; the New Jersey School Boards Association; and the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; three members appointed by the President of the Senate - one public member, and two members of the Senate no more than one of whom shall be from the same political party; three members appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly - one public member, and two members of the General Assembly no more than one of whom shall be from the same political party; the chairperson of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, or a designee; the Commissioner of Education, or a designee; the Commissioner of Human Services, or a designee; and the executive director of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, or a designee. The executive director of the council will be a non-voting member.
The council is to: consider the structure and design of the current system by which a preschool through grade 20 public education is provided; examine the efforts of other states to achieve a cohesive and aligned preschool through grade 20 system of public education; examine the findings of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce contained in its report, "Tough Choices or Tough Times," and develop recommendations related to this report; provide a listing of the components that in the council's judgment would comprise a coherent and aligned preschool through grade 20 system of public education, and the design and structure of such a system; state and discuss the policy issues associated with integrating these components into a cohesive and aligned preschool through grade 20 public education system, such as standards, testing, teacher education, college admissions policies, governance, funding streams and competition among institutions; and explore possible ways that the component parts of the current system can collaborate to provide students with a more cohesive and integrated system, and facilitate such collaboration.
No later than six months following its organizational meeting, the council is to issue a report to the Governor and the Legislature containing its initial findings and any recommendations it deems appropriate. The council is to report to the Governor and the Legislature at least annually thereafter and may communicate its findings and recommendations at any other time it deems appropriate.
The bill appropriates $500,000 to the Department of Education for the Preschool Through 20 Council.
