ASSEMBLY, No. 914

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman ROCCO

An Act concerning professional development schools in special needs districts, supplementing chapter 36 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and making an appropriation.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Professional Development School Pilot Program Act."

    2. The Legislature finds and declares that:

    a. Professional development schools are individual schools where teachers and researchers generate new knowledge and approaches to education and then put that knowledge into practice;

    b. Professional development schools can serve as the impetus for change in the school environment through an emphasis on teaching and learning and as a direct measure of accountability through school improvement;

    c. Professional development schools will increase the effectiveness of school systems in the State by improving the quality of teachers entering the profession and those already in the profession, linking university research efforts with educational practice in the schools and reforming schools through partnerships with institutions of higher education;

    d. The special needs districts have been identified by the Legislature and the Supreme Court as in need of new programs and strategies in order to improve the quality of education in these districts; and

    e. The institutions of higher education in the State are an underutilized resource in the improvement of education in the public schools.

    3. a. There is established a Professional Development School Pilot Project in the special needs districts defined in section 3 of P.L.1990, c.52 (C.18A:7D-3). Beginning in the 1995-96 school year, each special needs district shall develop and implement one professional development school at the elementary level in conjunction with an institution of higher education in the State. Each special needs district with a resident enrollment of more than 10,000 pupils shall establish an additional professional development school beginning in the 1997-98 school year.

    b. Each special needs district, along with its designated institution of higher education, shall submit to the Commissioner of Education, by June 1 of the school year preceding the school year in which the school is to be established, a plan to operate the professional development school. The plan shall also set forth the funding required therefor. The plan shall be prepared in consultation with teaching staff, parents, and community and business groups. The Commissioner of Education shall approve the plan along with any modifications which he deems necessary and set the level of State funding therefor.

    c. The purpose of each professional development school shall be to serve as a model for school reform and as an accountability measure for school improvement in the special needs districts. The goals of the professional development schools shall be to educate pupils, prepare new teachers, develop innovative teaching practices, conduct research, provide inservice practice, and disseminate educational innovations. The professional development schools shall emphasize preservice and inservice programs in teacher preparation and training, parental and community involvement in the education process and collaborative research.

    d. Each special needs district shall report annually to the Commissioner of Education on the following accountability measures for each professional development school:

    (1) Standardized test scores;

    (2) Grade scores;

    (3) Graduation and retention rates;

    (4) Daily attendance rates;

    (5) Incidents involving suspension or expulsion;

    (6) Enrollment in post secondary institutions;

    (7) Levels of parental involvement;

    (8) Degree to which curriculum has been expanded or improved;

    (9) Number of teenage pregnancies;

    (10) Number of incidents of alcohol and drug use;

    (11) Levels of teacher/staff morale; and

    (12) Any other standard required by the commissioner.

    The Commissioner of Education shall make modifications in any district's professional development school plan which may be necessary in the event of inadequate achievement of any of the above standards.

    e. On or before January 30, 1999 the Commissioner of Education shall report to the Governor and the Legislature on the success of the professional development schools and whether the pilot program should be continued, expanded, modified or terminated.

    4. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Education the sum of $9,000,000 to be distributed to special needs districts and institutions of higher education in order to effectuate the purposes of this act.

    5. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill establishes a "Professional Development School Pilot Project" in the special needs school districts. Under the bill's provisions, beginning with the 1995-96 school year each special needs district will be required to develop and implement a professional development school at the elementary level in conjuction with an institution of higher education in the State. Also, each special needs district with an enrollment of more than 10,000 pupils will be required to establish an additional professional development school two years later. By June 1st preceding the school year in which the school is to be established, the special needs school district, along with its designated institution of higher education, is to submit a plan which outlines the operation of the professional development school. The commissioner must approve the plan and set the level of funding required for the school's operation.

    A professional development school is a school where teachers from the public schools and researchers from the higher education community generate new knowledge about education and then put that knowledge into practice through teacher training and community involvement. The professional development schools established under the bill will have six main goals: to educate pupils, prepare new teachers, develop innovative teaching practices, conduct research, provide inservice practice, and disseminate educational innovations. The professional development schools are to serve as both a model for school reform and an accountability measure for school improvement.

    The bill provides that each special needs district is to report annually to the Commissioner of Education on certain accountability standards in order to assess the effectiveness of the professional development schools. If the accountability standards are not met, the commissioner may make appropriate modifications to the district's professional development school plan.

    The Commissioner of Education is to report to the Governor and the Legislature on or before June 30, 1999 as to the success of the professional development schools and whether the program should be expanded or modified. The bill appropriates $9,000,000 to the Department of Education to fund the establishment of the professional development schools.

Provides for the creation of professional development schools in special needs districts; appropriates $9,000,000.