SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 5077

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 12, 2025

      The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 5077 (1R) with committee amendments.

As amended, this bill extends the statutory pause on the collection of student growth objective data initiated pursuant to P.L.2024, c.14, and adds a pause on the collection of administrator goals data. The purpose of the bill is to extend the pause in the collection of student growth objective data and administrator goals data until the completion of possible revisions to the process of annually conducting teaching staff member evaluations which have been recommended by the New Jersey Educator Evaluation Review Task Force in its report issued September 30, 2024. 

     Under the amended bill, the collection of student growth objective data and administrator goals data would be paused until the next expiration and subsequent readoption of N.J.A.C.6A:10, which is the chapter of the Department of Education regulations that concerns annual evaluations of teaching staff members.

     The amended bill stipulates that a teacher, principal, assistant principal, or vice-principal who is eligible to attain tenure on or before February 15 is not required to set student growth objectives or administrator goals, or collect new student growth objective data or administrator goals data for the school year in which they are eligible to attain tenure. For the purposes of conducting evaluations of these teachers, principals, assistant principals, and vice-principals, existing student growth objective data or administrator goals data from the most recent year in which the educator completed student growth objectives is to be used.  A teacher, principal, assistant principal, or vice-principal who is eligible to attain tenure after February 15 is required to set student growth objectives or administrator goals, and collect student growth objective data or administrator goals data during the school year.

      As amended and reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 5077 (1R) is identical to Senate Bill No. 4375, which was also amended and reported by the committee on this date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill stipulate that a teacher, principal, assistant principal, or vice-principal who is eligible to attain tenure on or before February 15 is not required to set student growth objectives or administrator goals, or collect new student growth objective data or administrator goals data for the school year in which they are eligible to attain tenure; a teacher, principal, assistant principal, or vice-principal who is eligible to attain tenure after February 15 is required to set student growth objectives or administrator goals, and collect student growth objective data or administrator goals data during the school year.