SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3457

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MARCH 17, 2025

     The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No. 3457 with committee amendments.

     As amended, this bill establishes a New Jersey Out-of-School Time Advisory Commission.

     Under the amended bill, the commission is to consist of 22 members, including the Commissioners of Education, Human Services, and Children and Families, and the Secretary of Higher Education, ex officio, or their designees; one member of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate; one member of the General Assembly appointed by the Speaker of the General Assembly; and 16 public members appointed by the Governor, including one representative from each of the following: the New Jersey Council for Young Children; the Association for Children of New Jersey; the New Jersey School Age Care Coalition; the New Jersey Association of School Administrators; the New Jersey Parent-Teacher Association; the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network; the New Jersey Education Association; the New Jersey State Federation of Teachers; the New Jersey School Boards Association; the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; the New Jersey Charter Schools Association; the Advisory Committee for Nonpublic Schools of the Department of Education; the New Jersey Child Care Association; the Boys and Girls Clubs in New Jersey; the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance; and one academic researcher in the field of youth development.

     The duties of the commission are to:

     (1)  assess the state of out-of-school time programs in New Jersey by reviewing the policies of all State agencies that fund before-school, after-school, or summer programs, as well as review existing research and best practices;

     (2)  adopt appropriate Statewide standards for out-of-school time program design, implementation, and assessment;

     (3)  examine the existing amount of funding available for out-of-school time programs and the source of the funding; and

     (4)  examine the development and operation of out-of-school time programs in urban, suburban, and rural school districts, and make recommendations to increase the accountability and quality of the before-school, after-school, and summer programs.

     The amended bill directs the commission to issue an interim report of its findings and recommendations, including any recommended legislation, to the Governor, the Senate Education Committee, and the Assembly Education Committee, no later than one year after its organizational meeting, and a final report no later than two years after its organizational meeting. The commission will expire 30 days after the submission of the final report.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

· update the committee membership to include one representative from the Boys and Girls Clubs in New Jersey and one representative from the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance; and

· make technical changes.