Sponsored by:
Assemblyman NICHOLAS CHIARAVALLOTI
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Postpones New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) review for certain school districts to accommodate disruption due to COVID-19 pandemic.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum and supplementing P.L.1975, c.212 (C.18A:7A-3 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 11 of P.L.1975, c.212 (C.18A:7A-11) or any other section of law to the contrary, the Department of Education shall postpone the comprehensive review under the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum until the 2021-2022 school year for any school district that is required to undergo:
(1) a comprehensive review in the 2019-2020 school year, which review was not completed due to the COVID-19-related school closures; or
(2) a comprehensive review in the 2020-2021 school year.
b. If a school district is required to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2021-2022 school year due to the postponement provided under subsection a. of this section, then the school district shall undergo its next following comprehensive review three years after the school year in which its comprehensive review was originally scheduled to take place.
c. The postponement of the comprehensive review for school districts under subsection a. of this subsection shall not disrupt the comprehensive review schedule for any other school district.
d. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, the Commissioner of Education may exempt a school district, upon request, from the postponement of the comprehensive review required pursuant to this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill postpones the comprehensive review of certain school districts under the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) until the 2021-2022 school year.
Under current law, each school district is required to undergo a comprehensive review under the State monitoring system, the NJQSAC. Each school district is currently required to undergo the comprehensive review once every three years according to a schedule established by the Commissioner of Education. As a result, only a certain number of school districts undergo monitoring during any given year.
Under the bill, the comprehensive review of certain districts would be postponed to allow school districts and the Department of Education to focus additional resources on addressing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the bill requires the comprehensive review to be conducted during the 2021-2022 school year for any school district that was required to undergo its review during (1) the 2019-2020 school year, which review was not completed due to the COVID-19-related school closures; or (2) the 2020-2021 school year.
If a school district undergoes a comprehensive review during the 2021-2022 school as a result of the postponement, the district would be required to undergo its next review as if the postponement had not occurred (i.e., three years after the school year in which the review was originally scheduled to take place). The bill allows school districts to make a request to the commissioner for an exemption from the postponement. The bill also stipulates that the postponements required under the bill may not disrupt the schedule for any other school district’s comprehensive review.