A3850

An Act concerning school district accountability and amending and supplementing P.L.1995, c.235.

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

1. Section 3 of P.L.1995, c.235 (C.18A:7E-3) is amended to read as follows:

3. Report cards issued pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1995, c.235 (C.18A:7E-2) shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for:

a. the school district and for each school within the district, as appropriate:

(1) results of the elementary assessment programs;

(2) results of the Early Warning Test;

(3) results of the High School Proficiency Test;

(4) daily attendance records for students and professional staff;

(5) student graduation and dropout rates;

(6) annual student scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test;

(7) total student enrollment, percentage of limited English proficient students, percentage of students in advanced placement courses, and any other school characteristics which the commissioner deems appropriate;

(8) instructional resources including teacher/student ratio, average class size and amount of instructional time per day, as calculated by formulas specified by the commissioner;

(9) a written narrative by the school principal or a designee which describes any special achievements, events, problems or initiatives of the school or district;

(10) data identifying the number and nature of all reports of harassment, intimidation, or bullying;

(11) indicators of student career readiness;

(12) the number and percentage of students who were chronically absent, as defined in rules and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Education within 90 days of the effective date of P.L.2018, c.23 (C.18A:38-25.1 et al.), including the number and percentage of students who were chronically absent disaggregated by multiple student subgroups to be determined by the commissioner;

(13) the number, percentage, and demographics, including race, gender, disability, grade level, and eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch under the National School Lunch Program, of students who received one or more suspensions or expulsions or who were reported to or arrested by law enforcement, by category of offense, pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement Between Education and Law Enforcement Officials; [and]

(14) the number of school psychologists, school counselors, social workers, student assistance coordinators, and other mental health professionals employed by, or under contract with, the school district to provide mental health services to students, and the ratio of students to the total number of mental health professionals providing services in the school and the district; [and]

(15) the number of school safety specialists; and

(16) the number and percentage of 12th grade students achieving post-secondary placement in a registered apprenticeship or enlisting in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component thereof, or the National Guard. As used in this paragraph, “registered apprenticeship” means an apprenticeship in a program providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, which is registered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the United States Department of Labor and meets the standards established by that office; and

b. the school district, as appropriate:

(1) per pupil expenditures and State aid ratio;

(2) percent of budget allocated for salaries and benefits of administrative personnel;

(3) percent of budget allocated for salaries and benefits of teachers;

(4) percentage increase over the previous year for salaries and benefits of administrative and instructional personnel;

(5) the number of administrative personnel and the ratio of administrative personnel to instructional personnel;

(6) a profile of the most recent graduating class concerning their educational or employment plans following graduation; and

(7) any other information which the commissioner deems appropriate.

For the purposes of this section, the Commissioner of Education shall establish a uniform methodology for the reporting of the data concerning administrative personnel on a full-time equivalent basis.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.387, s.1)

2. (New section) a. The Commissioner of Education shall, in accordance with federal law, include the number and percentage of 12th grade students achieving post-secondary placement in a registered apprenticeship or enlisting in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component thereof, or the National Guard as an indicator for integration into the summative scores calculated by the department for each school and school district as part of the State’s accountability system developed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. s.6301 et seq.), as amended by the federal “Every Student Succeeds Act,” Pub.L.114-95. The commissioner shall, in accordance with federal law, update the accountability formula to ensure the information included as an indicator in the summative score pursuant to this section does not negatively impact a school or school district’s summative score.

b. As used in this section, “registered apprenticeship” means an apprenticeship in a program providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, which is registered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the United States Department of Labor and meets the standards established by that office.

3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Commissioner of Education to include information about post-secondary placement in registered apprenticeships and enlistment in military service in the “school report cards,” which are now referred to as the “school performance reports.”

School performance reports contain information on a number of student outcomes, including graduation and dropout rates, as well as a general profile of the post-graduation plans of a graduating class.

This bill would require school performance reports to include information on the number of students achieving post-secondary placement in a registered apprenticeship or enlisting in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, a Reserve component thereof, or the National Guard. The bill also requires the commissioner, in accordance with federal law, to include this information as an indicator to be integrated into the summative scores calculated by the department for each school and school district as part of the State’s federal accountability system. Under the bill, the commissioner is to update the accountability formula to ensure that this information does not negatively impact a school or school district’s summative score.

The bill defines a registered apprenticeship to mean an apprenticeship in a program providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, which is registered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the United States Department of Labor and meets the standards established by that office.