ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[Second Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 4975

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 14, 2020

      The Assembly Education Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 4975 (2R) with committee amendments.

As amended, this bill postpones the comprehensive review of certain school districts under the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) until the 2023-2024 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.

     This bill would postpone until the 2023-2024 school year the comprehensive review of districts that are: (1) required to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2020-2021 school year; and (2) were designated as a high performing district pursuant to section 14 of P.L.1975, c.212 (C.18A:7A-14) in the school district’s most recent comprehensive review.  However, the Commissioner of Education is required to permit a high performing school district that is subject to postponement under the bill to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2020-2021 school year, upon request by the school district.  A high performing school district that elects to undergo its scheduled comprehensive review in the 2020-2021 school year would undergo its next comprehensive review three years after the 2020-2021 school year.

     This bill requires a school district that is scheduled to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2020-2021 school year and was not designated as a high performing district in the school district’s most recent comprehensive review to undergo the 2020-2021 NJQSAC as scheduled during the 2020-2021 school year, except that such a district may postpone its comprehensive review until the 2021-2022 school year if the district provides written notification to the Commissioner of Education that it is not able to complete the review due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.  A school district that postpones its comprehensive review pursuant to this exception will 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).

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

     The committee amended the bill to require the Commissioner of Education to permit a high performing school district that is subject to postponement of a comprehensive review under the bill to undergo the review in the 2020-2021 school year, upon request by the school district.  The amendments also provide that a high performing school district that elects to undergo its scheduled comprehensive review in the 2020-2021 school year would undergo its next comprehensive review three years after the 2020-2021 school year.