Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH PENNACCHIO
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Senator KRISTIN M. CORRADO
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Holzapfel
SYNOPSIS
Requires public schools to post curriculum plans online; requires school districts to make textbooks or other materials used in implementing curriculum plans available for inspection by parents and legal guardians
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning access to school district curriculum plans and related materials and supplementing chapter 35 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. A school district shall, for each grade level, post curriculum plans for each course offered to students on the district’s Internet website at least 30 days prior to the beginning of a school year. Curriculum plans posted pursuant to this section shall include each unit of study, student learning objectives, course themes, and information concerning textbooks and other materials to be used by the district in the implementation of its curriculum plans. A school district shall update the district’s Internet website each time a curriculum plan is updated or revised.
b. In posting information concerning textbooks and other materials pursuant to subsection a. of this section, a school district shall also post information concerning when and where textbooks and other materials used as part of the district’s implementation of its curriculum plans will be available for review by the parents or legal guardians of students in the district. Parents or legal guardians shall be given the opportunity to review the textbooks and other materials prior to the time in which they will be incorporated into classroom instruction.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires school districts to post curriculum plans for each course offered to students in each grade level at least 30 days prior to the beginning of a school year. Specifically, a school district would be required to post information concerning each unit of study, student learning objectives, and information concerning textbooks and other materials to be used in implementing the district’s curriculum plans. School districts would be required to update their Internet websites each time a curriculum plan is updated or revised.
The bill also requires school districts to post information concerning when and where textbooks and other materials used as part of the district’s implementation of the district’s curriculum plans will be available for review by the parents or legal guardians of students in the district. Parents and legal guardians would be given the opportunity to review these materials prior to the time in which they will be incorporated into classroom instruction.
By requiring that school districts post their curriculum plans online and providing parents and legal guardians with the opportunity to review textbooks and other materials used as part of the curriculum, the State can ensure greater transparency and collaboration between school officials and the families they serve.