Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
Senator TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Pou
SYNOPSIS
Requires educator preparation program to report passing rates of students who complete certain tests and to disseminate information on test fee waiver programs, and permits collection of student fee for certain testing costs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As amended by the Senate on March 25, 2021.
An Act concerning educator preparation programs and supplementing chapter 26 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Each educator preparation program shall annually report to the Department of Education on the first-time and overall test pass rates of candidates for an instructional certificate, for each test required for instructional certification.
b. Each educator preparation program shall annually publish the first-time and overall test pass rates of its students on its website.
c. Each educator preparation program shall annually disseminate information to its students on the availability of fee waivers for tests required for instructional certification.
d. Each educator preparation program shall include in its 1[student fees a separate fee to] tuition and fees bill an optional lab fee that a student may opt to pay and which shall1 be applied towards the cost of the student completing the tests required for instructional certification. Testing fees for students preparing for employment as an educator in a subject area in which there is a shortage of teachers in the State, as determined by the department, shall be paid by the educator preparation program.
e. As used in this act, a “test required for instructional certification” means Praxis Core tests, or their successor tests, and Praxis Subject Assessments, or their successor tests.
2. The department shall annually compile the test pass rates of candidates for an instructional certificate submitted pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of this act into a comparative profile of all educator preparation programs. The profile shall be made available for public inspection on the department’s website.
3. The test pass rates submitted to the department pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of this act shall be included within the documentation required for the Commissioner of Education’s periodic review of educator preparation programs.
14. Any policy or
contract entered into after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) by the State, or any political
subdivision thereof, regarding a test required for instructional certification
shall provide for the dissemination of fee waivers to low-income students.
As used in this section:
"Annual adjusted gross income" means:
(1) for a dependent student, the annual adjusted gross income of the student's parent or legal guardian, as reported on the student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid or other financial aid form; and
(2) for an independent student, the annual adjusted gross income of the student and, if applicable, the spouse of the student, as reported on the student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid or other financial aid form, and
“Low-income student” means a student with an annual adjusted gross income of $65,000 or less.1
1[4.] 5.1 This act shall take effect in the first full academic year following the date of enactment.