Bill Text: NJ S2243 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes five-year community schools pilot program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S2243 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S2243-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Gopal, Singleton, Zwicker, Burgess and Pou
SYNOPSIS
Establishes five-year community schools pilot program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act establishing a community schools pilot program and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act, "community schools" means public schools that participate in a community-based effort to coordinate and integrate educational, developmental, family, health, and other comprehensive services through community-based organizations and public and private partnerships, providing access to these services to students, families, and the community year-round.
2. a. The Commissioner of Education shall establish a five-year "Community Schools Pilot Program" in the Department of Education. The objective of the pilot program shall be to facilitate the establishment of community schools that demonstrate a commitment to the four pillars of: integrated student supports; expanded learning time and opportunities; family and community engagement; and collaborative leadership and practice. Under the pilot program, any school district, renaissance school, or charter school shall be able to receive training and ongoing support throughout the duration of the pilot program regarding the establishment and operation of a community school, and one public school of a school district, renaissance school, or charter school in each county of the State shall be assigned a site coordinator who shall assist in the establishment and operations of a community school and oversee and coordinate the services and outreach to students and families.
b. No later than three months following the effective date of this act, the commissioner shall identify an institution of higher education or a qualified nonprofit organization with the appropriate capacity and experience located in the State that has demonstrated a commitment to facilitating high quality community schools in New Jersey to manage the pilot program. Upon selecting an organization or institution of higher education to manage the pilot program, the commissioner shall enter into a contract with that organization or institution specifying how State funds may be used and its duties and responsibilities including, but not limited to, those identified in section 3 of this act.
c. The Department of Education shall develop a list of schools selected to participate in the pilot program, and shall post the list on the department's website in a prominent and easily accessible location.
3. a. The organization or institution of higher education selected by the commissioner to manage the pilot program shall establish a technical assistance center that will be available to schools that are participating in the pilot program. The organization or institution of higher education shall also make group training sessions and materials about community school operations accessible to any school district, renaissance school, or charter school that expresses an interest in developing a community school. The technical assistance center shall be responsible for the Statewide dissemination of information on effective and promising practices in the establishment and ongoing management of community school strategies through professional development and technical assistance activities designed to:
(1) familiarize school personnel across the State with community school strategies;
(2) increase the knowledge and skills of school staff and community partners to aid in the implementation, management, and sustainability of community schools;
(3) promote the establishment and development of community schools that incorporate the characteristics of community school strategies;
(4) provide community schools with the tools necessary to design and implement needs assessments that will provide the data necessary to effectively target community school resources;
(5) increase Statewide capacity to support effective community school strategies; and
(6) identify and evaluate community schools' needs in order to provide tailored technical assistance and professional development.
b. The department, in coordination with the organization or institution of higher education, and the New Jersey Community Schools Coalition, shall develop specific criteria for selecting schools, including renaissance and charter schools, to participate in the pilot program and receive direct support from a site coordinator assigned to the school. The selection criteria shall be posted on the department's website.
c. The organization or institution of higher education shall employ and train individuals who shall be assigned to serve as a site coordinator. Individuals selected to serve as site coordinators shall be employees of the organization or institution of higher education, and not the school district, renaissance school, or charter school to which they are assigned. The salaries, wages, and other financial compensation of the site coordinators shall be the responsibility of the organization or institution of higher education.
d. A public school selected to participate in the pilot program shall enter into an agreement with the selected organization or institution of higher education outlining at minimum the role, responsibilities, and authority the site coordinator has in supporting the establishment of the community school site.
e. The organization or institution of higher education may enter into an agreement with another nonprofit entity to assist it in fulfilling any of the responsibilities enumerated in subsections a. through c. of this section, subject to the approval of the commissioner.
4. a. The commissioner shall annually receive an audit of the accounts and financial transactions of the organization or institution of higher education for the duration of the pilot program.
b. The commissioner shall enter into a contract with an independent entity to conduct an evaluation of the pilot program. The entity shall have expertise in evaluating educational programs and the provision of a range of social services. The evaluator shall issue a final report on the implementation of the pilot program no later than six months following the pilot program's completion. The commissioner shall forward the final report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1).
5. There is established in the Department of Education a nonlapsing fund that shall be known as the Community Schools Pilot Program Fund. The fund shall consist of any funds that are appropriated by the Legislature for inclusion in the fund, investment earnings of the fund, and moneys contributed to the fund by private sources. The moneys in the fund may be invested and reinvested as other trust funds in the custody of the State in the manner provided by law. Expenditures from the fund shall be exclusively for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this act.
6. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a five-year Community Schools Pilot Program in the Department of Education. Under the bill, the Commissioner of Education is to identify and enter into a contract with an institution of higher education or a qualified nonprofit organization with the appropriate capacity and experience located in the State to manage the pilot program. The organization or institution and the department will be responsible for selecting one public school of a school district, renaissance school, or charter school in each county of the State that would receive direct assistance from a site coordinator assigned to the school.
Additionally, the selected institution or organization is required to establish a technical assistance center that would be available to schools participating in the pilot program and would be responsible for making group training sessions and information about community schools available to any school district, renaissance school, or charter school interested in establishing a community school. The technical assistance center will be responsible for the Statewide dissemination of information on effective and promising practices in the establishment and ongoing management of community school strategies through professional development and technical assistance activities.
Under the bill, the department, in coordination with the organization or institution, and the New Jersey Community Schools Coalition, is to develop specific criteria for selecting schools to participate in the program and receive direct support from a site coordinator. The selection criteria would be posted on the department's website. The organization or institution is required to employ and train individuals who would be assigned to serve as a site coordinator. Site coordinators are to be employees of the organization or institution, and not the school district, renaissance school, or charter school to which they are assigned. The salaries, wages, and other financial compensation of the site coordinators would be the responsibility of the organization or institution. The bill directs a public school selected to participate in the pilot to enter into an agreement with the selected institution or organization outlining at a minimum the role, responsibilities, and authority the site coordinator has in supporting the establishment of the community school site.
The organization or institution can enter into an agreement with another nonprofit entity to assist it in fulfilling responsibilities enumerated in certain sections of the bill, subject to approval of the commissioner.
The commissioner would receive an annual audit of the accounts and financial transactions of the organization or institution for the duration of the pilot program. The bill also directs the commissioner to enter into a contract with an independent entity to conduct an evaluation of the pilot program. The final report, which the commissioner would forward to the Governor and the Legislature, would be due no later than six months following the conclusion of the pilot program.
The bill establishes the Community Schools Pilot Program Fund in the Department of Education. The fund is to consist of any funds that are appropriated by the Legislature, investment earnings of the fund, and moneys contributed to the fund by private sources. The bill allows the moneys in the fund to be invested and reinvested as other trust funds in the custody of the State in the manner provided by law.
