Bill Text: NJ A542 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes measures to provide employment stability for teaching paraprofessionals employed in school districts that receive federal funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Failed) 2010-01-25 - Withdrawn from Consideration [A542 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A542-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
214th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2010 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AMY H. HANDLIN
District 13 (Middlesex and Monmouth)
Assemblywoman JOAN M. VOSS
District 38 (Bergen)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Greenstein and Assemblyman Chiappone
SYNOPSIS
Establishes measures to provide employment stability for teaching paraprofessionals employed in school districts that receive federal funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning certain teaching paraprofessionals and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that as school districts that receive federal funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.) come under greater pressure to meet standards and demonstrate higher student performance, teachers in those districts are being forced to focus more on curriculum and student test preparation. In response to this pressure, the paraprofessionals that assist teachers are assuming greater responsibility for supporting students in the classroom and the school environment. Paraprofessionals perform a critically important role in providing a thorough and efficient education to the State's public school students. It is therefore fitting and proper to establish measures to enhance employment stability and promote professional development for these individuals.
2. a. As used in this section, "paraprofessional" means an individual who is employed in a school district as a school aide or classroom aide who assists a teaching staff member with the supervision of pupil activities.
b. On or before May 15 in each year, a paraprofessional continuously employed since the preceding September 30 in a school district that receives funding under Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s. 6301 et seq.) shall receive either:
(1) a written offer of a contract for employment from the board of education for the next succeeding year providing for at least the same terms and conditions of employment but with such increases in salary as may be required by law or policies of the board of education; or
(2) a written notice from the chief school administrator that employment will not be offered.
3. a. As used in this section, "paraprofessional" means an individual who is employed in a school district as a school aide or classroom aide who assists a teaching staff member with the supervision of pupil activities.
b. A paraprofessional employed in a school district that receives funding under Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.) shall be dismissed or reduced in compensation during the term of a contract only for just cause, and may not be dismissed for arbitrary or capricious reasons. A paraprofessional who is dismissed or reduced in compensation shall receive notice of the basis for the dismissal or reduction in compensation and have an opportunity to be heard.
c. Nothing is this section shall be construed to grant tenure to a paraprofessional, interfere with the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement, or affect any other right or remedy that may be available to a school district or paraprofessional pursuant to law.
4. a. As used in this section, "paraprofessional" means an individual who is employed in a school district as a school aide or classroom aide who assists a teaching staff member with the supervision of pupil activities.
b. Prior to the beginning of the first full academic year following the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a regionally-accredited institution of higher education offering coursework for a New Jersey instructional certificate shall adopt policies and procedures to allow a student who is enrolled in a teacher preparation program offered by the institution and who is a paraprofessional employed in a school district that receives funding under Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.) to perform his student teaching experience in the district in which he is employed. The institution shall enter into an agreement with the district in which the paraprofessional is employed to authorize the student teaching.
c. Prior to the beginning of the first full school year following the enactment of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), a school district that receives funding under Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.) shall adopt policies and procedures to allow a paraprofessional who is employed by the district and who is enrolled in a teacher preparation program at a regionally-accredited institution of higher education to perform his student teaching experience in the district. The district shall enter into an agreement with the institution of higher education in which the paraprofessional is enrolled to authorize the student teaching experience in the district.
d. A school district that receives funding under Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.) shall provide, if feasible, a paraprofessional who is student teaching in the district pursuant to this section with a modified work schedule that enables the paraprofessional to complete the student teaching experience while employed as a paraprofessional.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The purpose of this bill is to provide a measure of employment stability and promote professional growth for paraprofessionals employed in school districts that receive funding under Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The bill defines a paraprofessional as a school aide or classroom aide who assists a teaching staff member with the supervision of pupil activities.
The bill provides that a paraprofessional employed in a Title I school district may be dismissed or reduced in compensation during the term of a contract only for just cause and may not be dismissed for arbitrary or capricious reasons. A paraprofessional who is dismissed or reduced in compensation must receive a notice for the basis of the action and have an opportunity to be heard.
The bill also provides that on or before May 15 of each year, a paraprofessional in a Title I district who has been continuously employed since the preceding September 30 will receive either a written offer of a contract for employment from the board of education for the next succeeding school year, or a written notice from the chief school administrator that employment will not be offered.
Finally, the bill provides that in the case of a paraprofessional who is employed in a Title I school district and is enrolled in a teacher preparation program in an institution of higher education, the institution must adopt procedures to allow the paraprofessional to perform his student teaching in the district in which he is employed. The bill also directs the school district to adopt similar procedures, as well as to provide the paraprofessional, if feasible, with a modified work schedule that enables him to complete the student teaching experience while employed as a paraprofessional.
