Sponsored by:
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Senator STEVEN V. OROHO
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Madden
SYNOPSIS
Provides for postponement of New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum review for certain school districts for 2021-2022 school year.
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. (1) 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 of any school district that:
(a) is required to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2021-2022 school year; and
(b) was 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.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection to the contrary, the Commissioner of Education shall permit a school district that is subject to the postponement of a comprehensive review under paragraph (1) of this subsection to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2021-2022 school year, upon request by the school district. A school district that undergoes a comprehensive review in the 2021-2022 school year pursuant to this paragraph shall undergo its next comprehensive review three years after the 2021-2022 school year.
b. If the comprehensive review of a school district is postponed under paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section, then the school district shall undergo its next comprehensive review three years after the school year in which its comprehensive review was originally scheduled to take place.
c. A school district that is required to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2021-2022 school year and was not 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 shall undergo a comprehensive review under the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum in the 2021-2022 school year, except that such a district may postpone its comprehensive review until the 2022-2023 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.
d. If a school district postpones its comprehensive review until the 2022-2023 school year pursuant to subsection c. 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.
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) for 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, 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 this 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. The bill would postpone until the 2024-2025 school year the comprehensive review of districts that: (1) are required to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2021-2022 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 2021-2022 school year, upon request by the school district.
This bill requires a school district that is scheduled to undergo a comprehensive review in the 2021-2022 school year and was not designated as a high performing district in the school district’s most recent comprehensive review to undergo the 2021-2022 NJQSAC as scheduled, except that such a district may postpone its comprehensive review until the 2022-2023 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 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).