okay good morning everyone Um Mary Claudine Ahmed can you hear me okay thank you Good morning to all The New Jersey Open Public Meetings
Act was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to intend the meeting of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is disclosed or acted upon In accordance with the provisions
of this act the state board of education has caused notice of this meeting to be published by having the date time and place thereof posted in the department of education secretary of state's office A notice has been given to the state
house press the governor's office and the state board agenda subscribers And as a quorum is present this meeting will now come to order May I please have a motion so move Thank you very much Dr
Butcher May I please have a second um second Thank you very much Appreciate it Mr Ponte Um all those in favor please say I I I I Thank you Uh any opposed
please say nay Very good And now I would like to call this meeting immediately into executive session Whereas in order to protect the personal privacy and avoid situations wherein the public interest might be disserved the open
public meetings act permits public bodies to exclude the public from that portion of a meeting at which certain matters are discussed Now therefore be it resolved that consistent with the provision of NJSA 10 column
4-12B the state board of education will now adjourn to executive session to discuss personnel and legal matters May I please have a motion so moved Thank you very much Board member Bob Rose May I please have a second dr Butcher Yes
Thank you sir Um all those in favor please say I I I Great Thank you Um I believe it is unanimous All those um we will be back at 10:00 a.m and um if
those on the screen could please mute both their cameras and their microphones and call in Thank you very much Remember that teacher who changed your life you could be that teacher in New Jersey You'll help shape the next
generation alongside a dedicated community of educators New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries valuable benefits and a solid pension plan So be that teacher Make an impact Teach Inspire New Jersey To learn more
visit teach inspire.nj.gov Go If you're a teacher you've had students tell you how much you mean to them And for everyone who does more feel that way but may not say it Remember that teacher who changed your life You're that
teacher to a lot of people Teach Inspire New Jersey If you're a teacher you've probably had students tell you how much you mean to them And for everyone who does there are more who feel that way but may not say it You can't know how many but it's more
than you think Because you've done more than teach You've inspired Remember that teacher who changed your life you're that teacher to a lot of people Teach Inspire New Jersey [Music]
Jersey [Music] [Music] invitto [Music]
Remember that teacher who changed your life you could be that teacher New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries and valuable benefits Be that teacher Visit teach inspire.nj.gov Remember that teacher who changed your
life you could be that teacher in New Jersey You'll help shape the next generation alongside a dedicated community of educators New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries valuable benefits and a solid pension
plan So be that teacher Make an impact Teach Inspire New Jersey To learn more visit teach inspire.nj.gov [Music] If you're a teacher you've had students tell you how much you mean to them And
for everyone who does more feel that way but may not say it Remember that teacher who changed your life You're that teacher to a lot of people Teach Inspire New Jersey If you're a teacher you've probably had students tell you how much you mean to
them And for everyone who does there are more who feel that way but may not say it You can't know how many but it's more than you think Because you've done more than teach You've inspired Remember that teacher who changed your life you're
that teacher to a lot of people Teach Inspire New Jersey [Music] Jersey Jersey [Music]
Jersey Visit the teach inspire Punto NJ punto Remember that teacher who changed your life you could be that teacher New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country with competitive salaries and valuable benefits Be that
teacher Visit teach inspire.nj.gov Ready okay All right Okay Good morning everyone I believe now we're ready Thumbs up Thumbs up All right Thank you I'd
like to reconvene and resume the port public portion of our meeting Whereas consistent with the provision NJSA 104-12B the state board of ed will now adjourn from executive session to resume the open session portion of our meeting
May I please have a motion motion Thank you very much May I please have a second second Thank you very much All those in favor please say I I I Wonderful Any
opposed please say nay Any abstensions we will begin unanimously Um board member Fernaro would you be kind enough to lead us in the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all Thank you very much Welcome back everyone and thank you for joining us
today I would like to welcome those of you here with us personally in Trenton and I would like to also uh please let everyone know that state board vice President Johnson was unexpectedly not able to join us today Therefore I will
be leading today's meeting remotely Uh additionally if I experience any technical difficulties and am unable to perform the duties of president remotely I will appoint a temporary chair to serve in my
behalf So I'd like to please go ahead and announce that the state board meetings are accessible to the public for viewing on department's YouTube channel I would like to advise that YouTube provides readily accessible language translation options for closed
captioning Also if you are viewing this simocast currently you may use settings option in YouTube for information about subtitles automatic translations and close captioning in multiple languages
Regarding our meeting that we held on March 5th 2025 I'd like to please ask the board members to vote on the minutes May I please have a uh motion for the approval of the minutes from the March 5th 2025
meeting so moved Thank you very much Board member Bob Roth May I please have a second second Thank you very much I believe that was board member Barry Thank you very much So uh all those in favor please say
I I I Any opposed or motion carries with the approval of the minutes Thank you so much Regarding public testimony today the state board of education will
receive public testimony on the religious holidays candle resolution the civic event amendments to chapter 32 the school district operations and the amendments to chapter 27 student
transportation Our state board members are Silio Aonte Jack Fernaro and Mary Bennett are scheduled to sit for testimony for testimony today They will resume 30 minutes after our board
meeting concludes In May the state board will accept public testimony on the readoption with amendments of chapter 8 standards and assessments It will be an open topic session which means the public can speak on any
educational topic of their choosing Registration for the May 7th public testimony session will open on April 17th and close at noon on May the 1st We have um our state board permanent
student representative with us who we're just delighted to have Anna Pas Pascowitz She is a senior at Palmire High School in Burlington County Her adviserss are Mrs Kelly Jones and Ms Kim Martino I believe Miss Kim Martino is
accompanying Anna today Please rise and let us thank you Thank you Also in the audience we have incoming student representative Kaen D Rose a rising junior from East Brunswick
High School She is here to observe today along with her advisor Bonnie Pencard Kaen will assume her role in July Welcome Anna I understand that you have some remarks to share with us and when
you are ready please offer your remarks to us and thank you very much Thank you President Goldenberg and good morning everyone Year after year students are graduating from the New Jersey education system and moving on to future endeavors whether that be college
trade school the workforce the military or one of many other available choices A question asked by many is what are schools doing to prepare students for the next step in their individual careers furthermore what is going well and where is their room for improvement
i sent out a survey through the New Jersey Association of Student Council social media and monthly advisors update to ask students their opinion on how prepared they felt for their futures I received over 80 responses from many different schools providing valuable
insight on this important subject First I asked each student to rate how wellprepared their school made them feel for their next step in life on a scale of 1 to five with one being the least prepared and five being extremely prepared Not surprisingly the least
selected category was one with only 1.2% of students claiming to be as least prepared as possible 18.1% of students selected a two 36.1% of students selected a three And the largest proportion of 38.6% 6% of students
selected a four What did surprise me was how few students selected a five as their answers Only 6% of answers claimed that they felt as prepared as possible for their next step in life This statistic represents the room for growth when it comes to helping students feel ready for their
futures The next question was "What programs classes or initiatives did your school provide that prepared you for college?" The most common answer was advanced placement or AP and dual enrollment classes which allow students to get a feel for what college classes will be like and potentially earn some
college credits for taking those classes Another common answer was career focused clubs such as Health Occupation Students of America HOSA and Future Business Leaders of America FBLA These clubs allow students the opportunity to get a real feel for what
they're interested in and begin learning about the background of the field Many of the responses also contain some mention of electives such as business and finance courses which allow students to get a better idea for a major for a major they might focus on in college
These courses also contain general knowledge about handling money which can help students manage paying for college and learning about loans and debt The third question was what programs classes or initiatives were offered at your school that helped you feel prepared for a trade or job the most common answer
was wood shop This was followed by financial literacy courses as many students stated that the skills learned in these classes were applicable to many trades and occupations as well as day-to-day life Some students mentioned culinary arts programs art classes such as photography or journalism courses
However an overwhelming number of students answered that their school had few or no opportunities preparing them for the workforce only classes focused on preparing for college One student even specifically noted that they would love to see some auto mechanic or electrical classes enter their school's curriculum These types of classes can
actually help students learn life skills in addition to teaching the foundations of a trade For example an auto mechanic shop could teach students how to change attire The final question was "What do you feel your school can improve on to prepare students for their future no matter the path taken?" The most common
answer given by students was that they would like to see more classes focused on basic life skills rather than the typical academic focus Specifically students mentioned that their want for more classes on how to network and better interact with others prepare taxes settle debt handle an interview
and more Students also pointed out that despite the overwhelming number of AP classes they felt that more preparation was needed to handle the workload in these rigorous courses students mentioned that they wish they had classes that involved things such as time management or study habits that could benefit a large numbers of
students no matter what field they were interested in pursuing Some students also took the idea of future preparedness a step further mentioning that they would like to see more guidance in determining what path they should take in their future rather than being expected to figure it out on their own Often students don't
have any real idea of what they want to do with the rest of their life at such a young age Helping students feel as prepared as possible for their future is no small task as each student has their own individual goals and paths that they wish to embark on after graduation It's something that will never be perfect but
can always be approved upon At the end of the day it's important that students have a say in their own futures while simultaneously getting the help they need from their schools Whether a student is striving for college a trade school the workforce or something else it's critically important that their voices are heard so that they can be
best set up for their futures Thank you That was wonderful Thank you I'm also surprised how few felt they were ready Would anyone else like to comment at this time if I may I just wanted to thank you I think this is really
interesting surveys like sort of ask me particular when it's coming from the peer So I think that they're they're being honest and I have to say the maturity and introspection is really impressive and the fact that we now have high school students say
class taxes identity is both eye opening to really where our kids our kids and that's that's so um thank you for sharing this Thank you Thank you
Commissioner And now I would like to um have please a resolution We have a resolution to consider in recognition of the month of the military child within New Jersey And happily for us Mary Beth
Barry will read the resolution at this time Thank you Thank you President Goldenberg resolution in recognition of the month of the military child in New Jersey Whereas the month of April 2025 has been
designated nationally as the month of the military child by the Department of Defense to underscore the important role military children play in the armed forces community And whereas the New Jersey State Board of Education and the
Department of Education aim to ensure that the policy through the policies established that and physically for college careers and throughout life And whereas the Department of Education encourages
school districts to provide support to children of service members as they transition between schools to address their distinct needs and prepare them to graduate as well-rounded citizens And whereas the physical social and
emotional well-being of children in military families is essential to their success and has a direct impact on the resiliency of military families serving our country And whereas these efforts
and supports can improve the lives of military children to help pave the way for future generations And whereas it is both fitting and proper that special recognition be given to ensureing military children feel safe
and supported in our schools and communities so that their parents can focus on the challenges and missions they face in the line of duty Now therefore be it resolved that the New Jersey State Board of Education and the
Commissioner of Education recognize April 2025 as the month of the military child in New Jersey Thank you very much board member Barry And now I'd like to please ask for a motion to accept this resolution
Motion Thank you very much May I please ask for a second second Thank you Are there any comments at this time or questions hearing none I'd like to
please ask for the vote All those in favor of accepting this resolution please say I I I I Thank you Any opposed please say nay Any abstensions the motion carries And I'd
like to also announce that the resolution will be presented by state board member Mary Beth Barry during the month of the military child proclamation signing event on April 4th 2025 at the
Maguire Air Force Base Uh Mr Ambrose Duckett our assistant commissioner for the division of field support and services and Mr Ralph Hogue The Office of Strategic Operations will also be in attendance Thank you very much Any other
comments at this time thank you Mary Beth We appreciate your efforts Thank you And now we'd like to go ahead with the resolution in recognition of the school library month in New Jersey And um I would like to
please ask Claudine Keenan to read the resolution Thank you Thank you Madam President The resolution in recognition of school library month in New Jersey Whereas the month of April
2025 has been designated nationally as school library month by the American Association of School Librarians And whereas the New Jersey State Board of Education recognizes that information literacy skills are necessary and essential for students to
become active informed citizens and contributing members of local state national and global communities And whereas school librarians provide information literacy instruction so that students learn to think critically to
make informed decisions and create and share knowledge in preparation for post-secary success And whereas school libraries are the heart of schools promi promoting literacy equity diversity and inclusion and serving as a center for
voluntary inquiry through open access to resources to foster students growth and development And whereas school library media specialists provide literature appreciation activities as well as guide and encourage content and recreational
reading honoring students right to read And whereas school library media specialists work collaboratively with all content areas promoting activities with the goal of increasing literacy rates and students academic success And
whereas it is both fitting and proper that special recognition be given to school libraries and the role of certified school library media specialists recognizing their professionalism honor work ethic and performance as trusted information
professionals Now therefore be it resolved that the New Jersey State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education recognize April 2025 as school library month in New Jersey Thank you Thank you very very much Um
I'd like to please ask for a motion to um ex accept this resolution So moved So moved Thank you I believe uh I heard board member Bobo first and I would like
a second please if I could Board member Claudine Keenan I think you were next Thank you Um is there any discussion at this time hearing none I'd like to please ask for a vote All those in favor please say
I I I I Thank you Any oppose please say nay Are there any abstensions at this time hearing none the motion carries unanimously And I would like to please recognize Miss Karen Grant president for
the New Jersey Association of School Librarians and Miss Mary Moyer legislative consultant for New Jersey NJASL in the audience Um Miss Grant if you would accept the resolution and come to the podium please and say a few words
And then if you'd be so kind as to pose afterwards with Commissioner Damer and board member Claudine Keenan for photos Thank you so much Thank you Good morning everyone On behalf of the New Jersey Association of
School Librarians I would like to thank you Miss Goldenberg members of the state board of education and Commissioner Demer for proclaiming April as school library month Recognizing the value of school libraries and school library
media specialists in New Jersey is an important step toward building awareness of the significant impact that we can have on students overall education Reading and literacy skills are only the baseline of what school
library media specialists promote Today school librarians collaborate with other instructional staff to teach information literacy and digital fluency within the curriculum in order to prepare students to be critical thinkers problem solvers
and ethical digital citizens Skills that we know will ensure both college and workplace success We work tirelessly to prepare students to become informed and literate global citizens Thank you once
again for declaring April 2025 as school library month in New Jersey Thank you very very much And now we have our third uh resolution in recognition of Autism
Awareness Month in New Jersey And I'd like to please have a motion for this at this time So moved So moved Thank you Thank you who I believe the first person I heard was uh board member Bob Riv and
the second person I'm sorry who was it bennett Thank you very much Thank you very much Miss Bennett I appreciate you so much Thank you very much Um now if I could please ask that um we will have
board member Janette Pñena read the resolution Thank you resolution and recognition Thank you Uh resolution and recognition of autism acceptance month in New Jersey Whereas the month of April is globally
acknowledged as autism acceptance month dedicated to increasing awareness understanding and acceptance of autism spectrum disorder And whereas it is important to recognize and support individuals with autism by fostering a learning environment and community that
embraces neurodeiversity and promotes inclusivity And whereas autism spectrum disorders are characterized by a range of challenges and strengths impacting social communication behavior and sensory experiences
And whereas raising awareness about autism is essential in promoting early diagnosis intervention and access to appropriate resources and support And whereas creating an inclusive and supportive environment for individuals with autism involves promoting
understanding empathy and acceptance within schools workplaces homes and communities And whereas the New Jersey State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education acknowledged the importance of fostering understanding and support for
individuals on the autism spectrum and recognizing their unique social and emotional needs And whereas creating inclusive and supportive learning environments that cultivate positive relationships understanding and empathy for all students including those with
autism is integral to the mission of the Department of Education And whereas the New Jersey State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education are committed to promoting inclusive practices within educational settings to ensure safe supportive and equitable
learning environments for all And whereas collaboration among schools families and the broader community is essential to enhancing awareness and understanding of autism and to furthering inclusive practices that benefit every student Whereas the New
Jersey State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education recognize the ongoing efforts required to advance autism awareness and acceptance contributing to the creation of a more compassionate and inclusive community Now therefore be it resolved that the
New Jersey State Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education hereby recognize April 2025 as Autism Awareness Month in New Jersey Thank you board member Pena Appreciate you And now that now that we have u the
motion on the table is there any further discussion at this time hearing none All those in favor please say I I Thank you Any opposed please say
nay Any abstensions the motion carries unanimously Thank you Could we please recognize Suzanne Buchanan executive director Darene Blow public policy director Devin Baker deputy public
policy director for Autism New Jersey and Angie Tener occupational therapist at the Children's Center of Mammoth County Today we have in the audience if and then we would like to ask Angie Tenner to accept our resolution come to
the podium and say a few words and afterwards could we please ask you to pose with Commissioner Damer and board member Janette Pena for photos Thank you Thank you Commissioner Damer and thank you all for the honor of receiving this proclamation on behalf of Autism New
Jersey I've been an occupational therapist for more than 25 years at a center-based private school in Mama County where I work Sorry April is always a very big deal at our school The hallways are always lined
with decorations celebrating individuals with autism We hold a month-long fundraiser selling items at bake sales t-shirts and studentmade projects The students at our school know they are loved and accepted A few years ago I was arranging
cupcakes and cookies on our cart for our autism acceptance bake sale when I heard the news Two of our students had passed away in a house fire They were 20-year-old twins with autism They had been attending our school since
preschool I had one of those boys in my classroom that year He was always smiling He loved snacks and he loved dancing with Michael Jackson music Other family members were able to escape but the prince the twins couldn't
They passed away about 7 minutes from here in Trenton's West Ward on April 2nd 2022 exactly three years ago today It was absolutely devastating The only consolation was
that the twins passed together as they were always together In the wake of a tragedy like this it's hard to know what to think The boys had limited ability to communicate and like other individuals with autism they struggle to learn new
concepts I'm not sure if they would have known to open a window or to lay down on the floor to avoid smoke Many of us see autis autism acceptance month as a time of celebration and it certainly is But it's
also a time of raising awareness And that awareness drives our action policy and funding It enables schools like mine to receive the resources that it needs to teach children life-saving skills like eating communicating and
swimming Every April we still decorate our hallways at the Children's Center but for me and many other professionals it comes with a tinge of grief My student's photo is my computer desktop background I think about him and his brother every day when I get to work
and every day when I leave Their legacy drives me to help students with autism and disabilities in every way that I can I know I'm standing in a room full of advocates who feel exactly the same way You have fought for resources for my
students and the wider New Jersey community and I couldn't be more thankful May we continue to collectively partner with individuals with autism and provide them with the opportunities and skills they need to not only live but to thrive
in our state Thank you so much Thank you Congratulations That was fabulous What a heartfelt story We appreciate all your good work Thank you And now I'd like to continue with
state board committee reports Today uh we'll start with the administrative policy committee which met on March 25th 2025 Our board member Elaine Bobrove is
the chair and is ready and prepared to provide our report So please take over Thank you The administrative policy committee met as you said on March 25th
2025 to discuss proposed amendments to education certification and preparation regulations in chapters 9 9a and 9B The proposed amendments to align the chapters to recent changes in state law
are on today's agenda for further discussion So I will forego the f the remainder of my report All right Thank you Um and there will continue with our
instructional policy committee which met on April the I'm sorry on March 28th 2025 As Dr Johnson is the chairperson but is not able to join us today I will read the report from him Uh the
instructional policy committee met on March 28th 2025 to discuss the newest changes that our department of education is proposing as part of the readoption Bear with us for a few minutes folks We're going to wait for the president to
come back on It's a sticking that was issued to you No this is mine Oh it's yours It's the I know I was going so sweet I went
to 12 state very close in right there No I'm okay You're okay Turn this off Okay Did you turn this off no you're okay Uh
Keth President Goldenberg you're on my phone You're on in the public meeting President Goldenberg Can you hear me yes Okay You're in the public meeting Yes you're in the public meeting
Okay Okay Um All right Excuse me Uh pursuant to uh the best opportunities for afford to continue I would like to please ask that Mary Bennett take over running the meeting for me if that's all
right and act as pro chair Okay Thank you Yeah So she you're going to start here Okay Great Thank you I'm going to take you off of the um iPhone
Good morning President Goldenberg was about to provide the summary statement from Vice President Ned Johnson and I will attempt to pick up and carry forward The instructional policy committee met on March 28th 2025 to
discuss the newest changes that the department is proposing as part of the readoption of chapter 8 standards and assessments Most of the changes were proposed in response to comments received from stakeholders and the public Since this item is on today's
agenda at proposal level and the department will be presenting the newly proposed amendments I will refrain from providing a longer report We'll turn it over to Commissioner Damer I'm going to start with the
commissioner's reports and we will uh start with our loan item uh the 2023 24 school performance reports and that is today we will be releasing a little bit later the school performance reports for
the 2023 24 school year The school performance reports reflect the New Jersey Department of Education's commitment to providing parents students and school communities with a wide variety of information about each school district I encourage administrators
parents teachers and stakeholders to use these reports to learn more start conversations and engage Kathy Ailing assistant commissioner and Jessica Murville director of office of performance management will present uh a
summary of those reports right now Mine wasn't Mine wasn't on Okay And apologies my allergies decided to show up this morning So we'll do my best Um uh thank you Is it prom am I
saying that correctly Miss Bennett uh and members of the board We are pleased to be here today to provide you with an overview of the 2023 2024 school performance reports and graduation data under title one of the elementary and
secondary education act States are required to publish state and local report cards Report cards must include information on the state overall and on each public school district and school in the state New Jersey satisfies this
requirement by publishing the school performance reports each spring The performance reports are an important resource for parents and other stakeholders as they can be used to understand a school's challenges and strengths Information from the
performance reports can be utilized to have targeted conversations about school performance and empower parents to be informed partners in their child's education The department is pleased that this year's reports will include new data that is responsive to the requests
of our families and stakeholders The school performance reports provide a wide variety of data on each school and district as well as the state across 10 different categories There are about 100 different data tables and visuals in the
reports We work with offices across the department and with our stakeholders to expand and improve our reporting each year Over the last few years we've been working to add more data by student group and also to add trend data where
available In addition to the reports themselves we also provide a number of resources to help explain the data in the reports and give ideas on how to start conversations and engage with school communities We have one-page guides available on our website for
different audiences including administrators educators parents and schoolboard members with suggestions for the types of questions they may want to ask about or think about as they are reviewing the reports Districts are provided a two-eek
window to preview the reports prior to this public release All of the reports along with the resources databases and translated versions of the reports will be available later this afternoon following this meeting Since we can't cover every
data point included in the reports in this presentation we'd like to share a small subset of the data including some highle summaries of data that is either new has changed over the last several years or is aligned with state initiatives
I will now turn the presentation over to Miss Jessica Merville director of the Office of Performance Management who will share some highlights from the reports Morning everyone I'm excited to share some of the data um from the reports that we'll be releasing later today
We're going to start off with some data from our college and career readiness section Do you want to turn your Thank you Uh the college and career readiness section of the reports includes information on the PSAT SAT and ACT advanced coursework course
participation and career and technical education First we're going to look at our advanced placement or AP and international balorate or IB participation in performance In the school performance reports we report on participation in these types of courses
both overall and by student group Uh all of the data we're going to be talking about today is available for every school district and at the state level We also report out on the percentage of students taking the corresponding AP and IB exams and also students meeting benchmarks on those
exams Uh we also report out for each school and district the individual AP and IB courses offered and the number of students taking the corresponding tests Um you can see for example uh if you wanted to know which schools or districts offer certain AP courses you
can find that information in the reports The first set of bars on this slide shows the percentage of 11th and 12th graders who are enrolled in one or more AP course or AP or IB course over the last three years As you can see we had a 1% increase in the participation in
2024 As noted we do report this participation both overall and by student group And while we have seen these increases overall there are still gaps in participation when you look at data by student group Uh with for example only 9.8% of our multilingual learners participating in AP courses
When we look at the percentage of 11th and 12th graders who took AP or IB exams which is the middle set of bars on this chart uh our slides our rates have continued to increase over the last few years with now over 30% of our 11th and 12th graders taking an exam In terms of
performance the last set of bars on this chart we report on the percentage of all 11th and 12th graders not just the percentage of testers who have met a benchmark on these assessments which is a score of three or higher on an AP exam or a score of four or higher on an IB exam These numbers have also continued
to increase over the last few years Um if you were to look at just the percentage of testers who met benchmarks in New Jersey 74.8% 8% of our testers met at least one benchmark on an assessment in 2024 Oops Uh we'd also like to take this
opportunity to highlight the 2024 AP results that were released by College Board in February New Jersey continues to rank second in the country for the percentage of public high schools offering at least one AP course with over 95% of public high schools offering at least one course New Jersey has the
highest percentage of public high schools offering five or more AP courses with 86.9% of schools offering five or more courses New Jersey had the second highest growth rates looking at 10-year changes in both the percentage of graduates taking an AP exam with a 10%
increase and graduates scoring a three or higher on an AP exam with a 7.2% increase New Jersey also had the second highest percentage of students scoring a three or higher on an AP exam during high school And finally 189 New Jersey schools
public and private were recognized on the AP school honor role for 2024 In order to be recognized schools must have 40% or more graduates taking at least one AP exam 25% of graduates scoring a three or higher on an exam and
2% of or more taking five or more exams starting in grade 9 or 10 We also report on participation in dual enrollment courses in the school performance reports both overall and by student group Dual enrollment courses give students the opportunity to simultaneously earn high school and
college credits Participation in dual enrollment courses for 11th and 12th graders increased to 26.9% in 2324 which is about 7,600 more students in 2024 Like AP and IB courses we do continue to see gaps in participation across student
groups For example only 20.2% of economically disadvantaged students participated in 2024 The school performance reports also include participation and performance on the SAT PSAT and ACT assessments While most students in New Jersey take the
PSAT or SAT while in high school fewer than 10% of students take the ACT Um so for today's presentation I'm focusing on PSAT and SAT information However our reports do also include information on ACT Participation rates for both PSAT
and SAT have increased over the last two years They still remain below where we were at in 201819 Um but these trends in New Jersey do still align with what we're seeing across the nation Um as we reported in prior years there have been colleges and universities that have stopped requiring
these tests Um but some have added them back in the last few years Um so there's a lot of factors that factor into the students taking those tests This slide shows the performance on the PSAT and SAT assessments for math and reading and writing Both PSAT and
SAT average scores have decreased over the last several years This may be tied to the increase in participation as we see more students taking the tests over the last few years Additionally there's been some growth in the number of students who take the SAT on a school day compared to the weekend which may
mean that a broader range of students have the opportunity to take the tests Um again these trends in New Jersey do align with trends seen nationally with increases in participation and slight decreases in performance The New Jersey Seal of Biiteracy recognizes graduating students
who have demonstrated proficiency in at least one language in addition to English Students must take a world language assessment to demonstrate their proficiency in world languages The school performance reports include the number of students earn number of seals earned by language for each school and
district and the percentage of 12th graders who earn seals We've also expanded our reporting for 2024 to include the number and percentage of current and former multilingual learners who earned seals The number of graduates earning seals has increased increased each year for
the last three years In 2324 over 10,000 graduates earned a seal which is 9.6% of all 12th graders The number of seals earned in 2324 is nearly double the number that were earned in 2018-19 And in 2324 about 24% of our
12th grade current and former multilingual learners earned a seal To increase participation the department has consistently messaged to districts to consider all the ways in which students may be learning languages conducted outreach to districts to increase participation and improve
technical support for the process For example the department published a seal of biiteracy video series last year which provides quick readily available videos on frequently asked questions and also released promotional materials for families students and districts around
the seal of bi literacy In a 22 23 survey conducted by Ruckers one of the most frequently recommend frequent recommendations for districts was to increase the information they could provide for students and families about the seal And we believe this increased support and resources have helped in
adding 19 more eligible districts and 20 more high schools participating in 2324 Districts submitted their 2025 numbers last month and preliminary numbers suggest that the numbers will continue to increase in 2025 Like slightly delayed Sorry The
school performance reports include a whole section on career and technical education or CTE programs across the state This includes data on participation in programs both overall and by student group participation in work-based learning and industry valued
credentials earned by students Uh per the workforce innovation opportunity act recognized post-secondary credentials consist of a industry valued industry recognized certificate or certification a cert certificate of completion or an apprenticeship a license recognized by
the state involved or federal government or associate or balora degree The department reports on the number of students earning credentials each year which includes certificates certifications or licenses This chart shows the number of students who earned one or more industry value credential
for the last three years We've seen the number of students earning credentials increase in each of the last four years In 2324 over 9600 students earned an industry valid credential which is more than three times the number of students who earned a credential in 201920
These increases may be due in part to a Perkins 5 state plan requirement from spring 2020 that all CTE programs must end in an industry value credential college credit or apprenticeship Additionally in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Labor and the credential
review board the department has expanded the number of credential options available contributing to these increases The department now recognizes 129 industry value credentials across 13 career clusters We'll now move into some data from the
climate and environment section of our reports Uh particularly attendance and discipline data Chronic absenteeism is defined as being absent for 10% or more of the days enrolled during the school year The department includes chronic absenteeism as our school quality indicator in our
every student succeeds act or ESSA accountability system In the school performance reports we report on chronic absenteeism rates by student group and grade level And we've expanded our reporting for 22 23 24 to include three-year trends for each school and
district This slide shows the statewide chronic absenteeism rates for New Jersey for the last three years We've included 2018-19 for reference We've also included national rates from future ed Um the 2324 rate is estimated based on
data reported by states so far As you can see our rates have decreased over the last two years down to 14.9% per 23 to 24 but the rates are still higher than they were in 201819 when 10.6% of students were chronically absent Each
school with a chronic absenteeism rate of 10% or higher is required to develop a corrective action plan to improve chronic absenteeism rates In 2324 over 60% of schools had a chronic absenteeism rate of 10% or higher compared to only 32% in
2018-19 Part of this corrective action plan is identifying problems and barriers to school attendance and developing recommendations to address them We see the highest rates of chronic absenteeism among students experiencing homelessness students in foster care economically disadvantaged students and
students with disabilities Most student groups did show increases however in 23-24 compared to the prior year The trends in New Jersey seem to follow national trends based on data reported so far Future ed again has estimated that the national chronic absenteeism
rate is approximately 23% per 2324 Most states have followed the same trend as New Jersey with increases in 21-22 and decreases over the last two years And based on states that have reported data so far New Jersey um has one of the lowest rates in the nation
We've also improved our reporting on the breakdown of the percentage of days that students were absent during the year um and how we um to align with how we calculate chronic absenteeism This slide shows a new table that we'll be including in all of our school and district reports that shows the percentage of days that students were
absent during the 2324 school year We can see that most students miss 0 to 7 days of school during the year which for a typical 180 school year would be 13 days for the year um which would be fewer than 13 days for the year The three yellow bars to the right of the
chart represent students who were chronically absent and missed 10% or more of days during the year We can see that less than 3% of the students missed 20% or more days And about 47% of the students who were chronically absent in 2324 were absent between 10 to 13% of
days which is about 18 to 23 days for a typical 180day school year This new chart can help understand where students are and where they are just over 10% or just under 10% or have very high percentages of day absent days absent So it gives a more detailed picture of
what's going on in each school and district Um these numbers help us understand the impact of chronic absenteeism on our academics and learning When students are in school there's a direct and positive impact on academics um and the programs districts are
offering In addition to our expanding our reporting the department has been focused on promoting regular school attendance and addressing chronic absenteeism in various ways During the past school year the department launched an attendance awareness campaign both through a social media campaign as well
as by providing district and schools with resources to run local campaigns As part of this work we were able to work with the county offices to present corrective action plan requirements to all 21 counties during superintendent roundts Lastly we have launched a conditions for learning web page which
you can see on this slide It is meant to be the hub for chronic absenteeism and the promotion of regular school attendance This web page offers a collection of current resources designed to assist schools and districts in addressing chronic absenteeism and promoting regular school attendance
Moving forward we will be looking to highlight schools that are experiencing improved rates of chronic absenteeism and technical assistance will also be offered at our winter learning institute Some some of the guidance we have recently released includes our guidance
for reporting attendance and calculating chronic absenteeism rates guidance for database decision-making that incorporates New Jersey specific rules regulations and various resources including a template and sample corrective action plan and our engaging families and supporting school
attendance guidance Because through our engagement with districts we've learned that developing a quality instrument to identify the root causes of chronic absenteeism is a challenge The guidance provides sample items that schools can use to develop their own survey instruments for families and guardians And we've had these items translated
into our top 10 languages We know that parents parents and guardians are a key lever we need to pull to get kids into school regularly In the reports we include data on the number of violence vandalism harassment intimidation and bullying or HIV and substance offenses as well as
disciplinary removals In 2223 the department was required to start reporting out on disciplinary removals police notifications and student arrests by student group and grade level Last year the first year that we released this data it was reported in a separate database but this year we've included that data directly in the school
performance reports On this slide we show the total number of violence vandalism HIV and substance offenses for the last three years as well as the number of students with suspensions both overall and by in school and out of school suspensions The number of students who received any type of
suspension decreased in 20 oh sorry skipped over There was a slight decrease in the number of incidents in 2324 Um and the number of students who received any type of suspension decreased in 2324 as well Um within inschool and out of school suspensions we did see a shift um with an increase
in in school and a decrease in out of school suspensions So move numbers are moving in the right direction The department and district focus on student mental health may be helping to drive these decreases So it's essential that we continue to support districts in this work to ensure all students are safe and
supported in their schools I will now hand uh the presentation back over to Miss Sale Thanks Thank you Okay Over the next few slides I'm going to present information on the
difference between the state and federal graduation rates and also share the 2024 data for both calculations In order to meet state graduation requirements and receive a state endorsed diploma a student must first meet all state course requirements local
attendance requirements and the state graduation assessment requirements Graduates in the class of 2024 were required to meet the graduation assessment requirements in both English language arts and mathematics through one of three pathways The first pathway
is to demonstrate proficiency on the New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment or the NJGPA The second is to meet the designated cut score on one of the assessments on the menu of substitute competency tests which includes the SAT
PSAT and ACT Or the third pathway is to demonstrate proficiency through a student portfolio appeal It's important to note that to address the needs of a small percentage of students with disabilities who have more complex needs New Jersey regulations provide
flexibility for individualized education program or IEP teams to determine which graduation requirements a student with a disability will meet to receive a state endorsed diploma State regulations provide that these students still receive a state endorsed diploma and are
included as graduates in the state graduation rate The department was monitored for its compliance with the every student succeed act succeeds act by the US department of education in 2019 As a result of that monitoring USD issued a
corrective action plan to the state which required New Jersey to change the way it calculates the federal graduation rate The federal graduation rate is the rate that is reported to the US Department of Education and is used for federal accountability purposes It is a measure of all students in a particular
cohort who have graduated and met all state graduation requirements That's the numerator compared to the total number of eligible students in the cohort That's the denominator As a result of the monitoring the department was required beginning in 2021 to exclude
students with disabilities who did not meet all the graduation requirements because of a modification or exemption in their IEPs from the numerator for the federal calculation To be clear these changes are only being made for purposes of ESSA implementation and other federal
requirements As a reminder the federal graduation rate that's the one that does not include students with disabilities who do not meet either course attendance or graduation assessment requirements due to that modification in their IEP This means that the federal rate will always
be either equal or lower than the state rate There were no graduation assessment requirements in place for the class of 2023 due to a law in 2022 that required the NJGPA to be administered as a field assessment in the spring of 2023 and
spring of 2022 excuse me Students in the class of 2022 and 2024 were required to meet graduation assessment requirements Because of the difference in graduation requirements across the classes the cohort 2023 federal rate is not directly
comparable to 2022 and 2024 For comparison purposes it makes more sense to compare cohort 2022 and cohort 2024 And doing that there is an increase in the federal rate for cohort 2024 as compared to 2022
This slide shows the statewide four-year and 5-year graduation rates The four-year rate for cohort 2025 is 91.3 which is the highest four-year graduation rate New Jersey has had since implementing the adjusted cohort graduation rate calculation in 2011 The
5-year rate is 92.6 which remains consistent with 5-year rates for the last several years This is a reflection of the hard work of our students and our school communities These rates have remained relatively stable over the last 5 years and they do include those
students with IEPs who received a state endorsed diploma but may have had a modification or exemption to the course attendance or graduation requirements as is allowed in our state regulations The school performance reports uh now
show graduation rates by race ethnicity gender and additional student groups Today I would like to close out our presentation by highlighting student groups with significant increases in their four-year graduation rates The four-year graduation rates for both economically disadvantaged students and
multilingual learners have increased over both of the last two years The cohort 2024 rates represent the highest four-year rates since 2011 for both of these student groups Thank you And Jessica and I are happy to answer any questions that you may have about the uh
reports Board members any questions before I turn this back over to President Goldenberg who's rejoining us because the technical difficulties have been corrected President Goldenberg it's yours Thank you very
much board member Bennett I appreciate you taking taking the helm Um I see that Arcelio Aante has his hand up and sir I'd like to have you please ask your questions and comments Thank you Madam President Thank you very much um Commissioner and team for this
presentation and uh these updates Um at some point could we get a further breakdown of the student groups um certainly I'm interested in knowing um a little bit more about the graduation
rates and the um uh other uh categories that you covered here uh more specifically around the other demographic groups uh uh Latino kids black kids so on and so forth I just like to see that data at some point So
if you can provide that to the state board that'd be fantastic Yes we can provide that Thank you Yeah And we'll we'll work on getting kind of the range of the the breakdown that we uh from all the student groups that we have and and share that back with the
board Thank you Thank you for the question Uh and by the way just a reminder for everybody this will be coming out later today And this is folks for those in the room and those out in public You can look up by district and get detailed information for each each
district and uh we encourage you to take a look see what's going on in in your community um and and really dig in Great One one final question in the industry valued credentials that you spoke of earlier It'd also be interesting to see
how many of our students received a industry credential around the STEM fields versus the traditional trades So for example if there were uh uh software credentials uh healthcare credentials uh
just get we have it broken down by oh sorry we do have it broken down by career cluster Um we don't have each individual credential but it's by the I believe 13 career clusters the number of students credential and you and you can share that with us right of course great
thank you if I could and uh on that point I think this really ties in beautifully what um Anna's report today I was like wow um I regarding the industry valued credentials there's 129 nine industry
value credentials you said I believe that's the total offered Yes Is that evolving are there are we looking to continue to add to this i'm I'm glad to see the numbers you know going up and more kids availing themselves of this But I I would love to see Anna do this
same report next year and us have you know really start to really see that kids are walking out of school and saying "I really got something I'm I'm set I'm ready." So um I I think it it's great This was a a wonderful report I'm
glad to see things moving up but there's still much more room to go So um I'm I'm interested in seeing that breakdown as well So careers just on that note I believe the number is increasing This is a good uh a close
collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development And so I think that this has been an opportunity for us to kind of expand and focus in on kind of where uh the industry is in New Jersey so that the students coming out of our high schools are prepared going into the
workforce right out of high school And the dual enrollment piece is I'm glad to see that that's rising and and those opportunities are available for our students So thank you Great report just going to be stating the obvious It looks like the trajectory is in the
right direction overall with the report which is nice to see Thank you Are the teacher certifications I might have missed that little bit but is that helping to to have more students avail themselves of these programs
for the dual enrollment programs or for the CTE programs uh probably both but I was thinking more so about the CTE at that moment But thank you Uh I can follow up with our career readiness office but I know they've been
working on the different certifications available for teachers Yeah I think that's uh Madam President I think that's something that we'll have to dig into to see the the correlary between the two but it's an interesting question I don't know that that's come up directly but I think it's really
important kind of as you point out like some of particularly in our CTE uh instructor set finding folks that are uh ready to teach uh kind of right away is something that has has long been an issue and uh so finding you know mapping
that against what our high school students are doing coming out I think is really really interesting question Thank you Thank you I'll look forward to hearing more if if we can gather that Okay Any other questions if not
um I'm sorry Did we take a motion already this is this is just a presentation from uh uh in the commissioner uh section So uh no vote necessary Um and mostly this is just to make make you aware and let
you know this is coming out later today All right thank you so much And with that uh I would like to move into the items for consideration Uh the first of which is a standing item for appointments And today there are no
appointments to move forward So I'll move to the next agenda item another standing item which is certification of school districts And likewise we don't have any school districts for certification this month So we can move right into uh agenda item C standards
and assessment At the proposal level today I'm presenting at proposal level the readoption with amendments to the rules in chapter 8 which is standards and assessment This chapter is essential to teaching and learning in New Jersey ensuring alignment between local curriculum instruction and the New
Jersey student learning standards and the state assessment system As we approach the chapter scheduled expiration next month we have an opport we had an opportunity to hear from stakeholders about this proposal And I think we've taken each of those comments to heart and really tried to build that
in And I think that's the crux of what you're going to hear today is how we uh took those comments and built that into the proposal that you heard previously So with that I want to turn it over to Lisa Habil and Chris Huber who will present uh kind of what those comments
were and how they're reflected back in the revised proposal today Thank you so much Commissioner Good morning President Goldenberg and me members of the state board of education We are pleased to join you this morning to discuss our proposed revisions to New Jersey Administrative Code Chapter 68 at
proposal level As you may recall from our previous discussions the chapter which implements the New Jersey student learning standards and the statewide assessment system is scheduled to expire on May 3rd 2025 We would like to begin by briefly revisiting the overarching goals of the
proposed revisions Then we will share the themes that emerged from the public comment we received then transition into a discussion of the responsive revisions we made to the chapter As a result we would be pleased to take any questions you may have at the end of the
presentation In February we first shared with you the proposed amendments to streamline and clarify rules procedures and operations and update terminology and rules to align to federal and state laws The proposal focuses on enhancing the alignment of instruction to student needs ensuring instructional programs
are designed and delivered to serve all students and meet their unique needs There is also a proposed emphasis on increasing access to advanced coursework and underscoring the development of civic responsibility and information literacy A renewed focus is the preparation of students for the modern
workplace and more broadly post-secary and career success The proposed revisions strengthen career readiness through a focus on career counseling work-based learning and dual enrollment programs The proposed amendments also provide clarity around authentic learning experiences and individual
student learning opportunities Continuous improvement is also a goal of this proposed package This includes an introduction of accountability measures like corrective action plans for non-compliance with the New Jersey student learning standards professional development requirements and the regular
use of disagregated data to monitor and improve student outcomes The public comment period began in February and the comments received to date have generally focused on a few key themes The first is the clarification of definitions Several commenters requested
clearer definitions for existing terms The second is specificity of curriculum elements Commenters sought clarity to determine the scope and extent of what resources and materials are included in curriculum And lastly clarification of newly proposed
regulations Commenters proposed clarifying language and identified possible redundancies But before we move into the specific revisions we would like to take a moment to clarify how the revisions are formatted in our proposal package New language proposed at
proposal level this month is bolded and highlighted in yellow These are changes largely resulting from feedback received during the past few months of public comment Existing language that is proposed to be deleted for the first time here today at proposal level is
double bracketed again mostly as responsive edits to the public comment we received And lastly new language proposed at first discussion in February but is now proposed to be deleted at proposal level this month is bold and double bracketed
We will begin with revisions to the definitions The highlighted changes again in bold and yellow indicate the following revisions to the definitions you've reviewed at first and second discussion levels The first is interdisciplinary connections This definition now
specifies that these connections occur at the appropriate grade level emphasizing that integration should be developmentally appropriate NJQs The definition now includes monitor alongside review and evaluate indicating
CQAC's intentional design for the ongoing oversight of school districts Pacing guide A reference to the New Jersey student learning standards was included to ensure explicit alignment of a pacing guide with our student learning standards A
clarifying sentence was also added A pacing guide does not include lesson plans which ensures a clear distinction between a school district's curriculum pacing guide and teacher developed lesson plans A curriculum pacing guide outlines what should be taught and when
hoping helping educators plan and remain on track throughout the academic year to ensure students receive grade level content as required You will note the distinction of a pacing guide not including lesson plans again on the next slide when we discuss curricular materials to be made publicly available
by school districts The highlighted and bracketed changes indicate the following updates to the citations 3.1 A3 specifies that school district boards of education must make approved curriculum pacing guides
and the related citations for instructional materials publicly available reinforcing that only resources approved by the local school board must be shared The proposed revision also clarifies the components of curriculum that must be made publicly available Lesson plans and assessments
for example are not required components The concern that lesson plans and assessments would be required through this new proposal was elevated by several commenters and in this revision in concert with the definition of pacing guide that we explored a moment ago seeks to clarify the intent
34D3 adds "Students not at grade level proficiency to the list of student groups requiring integrated accommodations and modifications ensuring additional support for students who are behind academically but have not been identified in any other student group previously included This revision
acknowledges the nuances of our multi-tered system of support framework and helps schools provide targeted support to all students based on their individual needs 3.5E removes the explicit reference to unit and or lesson plans in the
corrective action plan requirements avoiding redundancy and clarifying the sequence of events related to implementing a corrective action plan Unit and lesson plans widely understood to be components of curriculum will be modified as a result of the approved
curricular policy and/or programmatic changes appearing in the CAP not concurrently School districts will need time and support to design the units and lessons in response to the changes approved within the CAP They would not occur at the same time as suggested within our initial
proposal A phrase has been changed to post-secary and career success at 1.1B as well as the proposed heading of subchapter 6 preparation for post-secary and career success This revision was requested to ensure the term post-secondary did not unintentionally
exclude workforce and career development as the term may cannote a limitation to pursuit of higher education rather than workforce preparation That was certainly not the intent behind our proposal to introduce the term So we deemed the revision necessary for
clarification Another revision appears at 2.1B1 This was a new provision that was introduced to clarify a process regarding the integration of new curriculum related laws The department received requests for clarification as well as the voice perception that the
amendment is unnecessary As a result of the comments the new proposal has been rescended entirely The department and the state board of education are the entities responsible for setting and approving the New Jersey student learning standards which lead to the development
of local curriculum As a department is required to implement statutory curriculum mandates the commissioner in conjunction with the state board of education already hold this power Therefore we submit that this language is not necessary The removal of this new
proposal will simply maintain the status quo A clarifying proposal appears at 5.1 A211A which outlines the provision of the rules commonly referred to as option two Individualized student learning opportunities Option 2's more formal
name in RO text provides an alternate pathway for students to meet high school graduation requirements It allows districts to innovate and meet unique students needs by offering personalized learning experiences outside of traditional coursework In the initial proposal we
offered language that was well supported by the comments received However commenters sought clarification as some interpretations differed The proposed phrasing be designed approved and delivered or supervised by appropriately certified educators was unclear to
commenters due to the use of the coordinating conjunction or In response to the comments the department responded by describing the three distinct scenarios that were intended in the initial proposal and the specific conditions of the role of appropriately qualified educators in each to provide
increased clarity For example New Jersey Administrative Code Chapter 19 requires work-based learning experiences to be supervised by work-based learning coordinators These are educators who have been trained in child labor laws ensuring student safety
in work settings and other critical issues related to work-based learning experiences While some content content area teachers may have this training most work-based school programs feature partnerships between content area teachers and work-based learning coordinators This revision highlights
the unique models found in CTE and support student attainment of credits in these very unique settings Lastly dual enrollment opportunities allow students to metriculate in college courses while in high school In many cases college professors who often hold great
expertise in their respective fields are not New Jersey certified K12 educators This provision allows dual enrollment experiences with syllabi and course materials that are reviewed for NJSLS alignment by appropriately certified educators to count as high school
credits for students We anticipate these revisions will add the additional clarity and encourage expansion of these types of innovative programs for students There are two areas where commenters requested that we add additional clarifying language when referencing
state statutes related to student protections You may be familiar with the opt out provision in state law which allows parents or guardians to opt their child out of health family life or sex education by submitting a science statement to school principal to the school principal citing moral or
religious beliefs The student will be excused from that part of the course without penalty One commenter noted that the rule text in section 3.4E did not include one phrase that appears within the statute The phrasing that clarified that no penalties related to credit or
graduation will result from a student being opted out of that portion of the course This the revision is highlighted and bolded here In addition one commenter requested that the department include the citation for the statute that requires criminal background checks for individuals who
will be working with New Jersey students to ensure the safety of both the students and the staff That revision is also bolded bolded and highlighted here Several commenters highlighted and supported the development of information literacy standards and the accompanying regulations that direct their
implementation The newly proposed placement of New Jersey school library media specialists at 61D12 elevates their leadership as experts in the content We would like to share one final agency initiated change which appears in
the portion of the subchapter that addresses individual student learning opportunities As mentioned before this provision is commonly referred to as option two which allows innovation to emerge in providing alternate experiences for students in meeting graduation requirements The specific
subsection featured on this slide addresses group programs which open these unique learning experiences to groups of students rather than just one individual In an effort to encourage its use the department crafted two potential examples of common group programs that
highlighted only career and technical education and English as a second language programs which are both governed in separate administrative code chapters 19 and 15 respectively After internal discussion it was determined that the proposed language may unintentionally limit the types of group
programs developed by school districts by suggesting that this rule text is limited only to CTE and ESL bilingual programs To rectify these concerns and to ensure consistency across our administrative code chapters the department proposes to remove the two
examples of group programs from the proposal The department intends after the regulations are adopted and take effect to release guidance to support school districts in implementing group programs including but certainly not limited to CTE and ESL
settings Thank you for your time and attention and we're here to answer any questions you may have about the chapter or the proposals Mary Beth has a question Madam President thank you sir Uh Mary Beth if you'd go ahead please Thank you All right Thank
you Thank you President Goldenberg Um thank you for that report Um I had asked a question and I think you're getting back um regarding the number of schools that avail themselves of the option too So I don't know did you have any data yet back on that or it we just asked
that at a meeting earlier So I don't I don't know whether you have we we've been discussing it since the question came up We don't have a direct data point So we're looking to see if there's anything we can kind of triangulate to get at it Um but we don't collect that as a specific data point So um but it is
certainly something to for future consideration where we look forward to um that being shared I I think again I go back to Anna's report today how important it was so timely as I was I had read her report I was like I knew these were the things we're going to be
discussing Option two is an amazing data that you're so good at Um the number of um staff members that are work-based learning certified Um does every school have a work-based learning
coordinator um is you know I I would hope certainly that's really important if you're trying to get people out into the community or working with businesses So I'm wondering um is that something that we can you know safely say that every school does
have orb based learning coordinator and what are the statistics we have you know a a wealth of people getting trained to be bringing business and industry into um our schools and making it real in the classroom So the department is proud to
to have a wonderful partnership with Ruckers University our um we work very closely with Derek Chandell and his team um who uh who provide professional learning and provide the certification for work-based learning programs So we can certainly circle back with our colleagues at Ruckers to get that data
That's I I've done I have the workbased program It's great isn't it it's a great program and and I think it's amazing and because of having gone through that training um it makes you think about things a little bit differently and opens your mind up to the great things
we're doing in our classes academically making them make sense And then Anna does a presentation where students are saying "You know what um we're really feeling ready because we're taking all those great things we're doing in the classroom and we're amping it up a
little bit." So it's true Thank you Thank you Are there other questions or comments at this time hearing none I'd like to please ask for a motion to accept the standards and assessments as presented
So move motion Thank you Dr Butcher And I'm sorry who is the second was is there a second janette Seconded Thank you very much Thank you board member Pñena I appreciate it Um is
there any further discussion or questions at this time having no other questions uh all those in favor please say I I I any abstensions are there any nays at this
time motion carries Thank you very much Uh tremendous presentation Thank you Thank you And now we'll move on to item D student transportation for second discussion
Today at second discussion I'm presenting proposed amendments for new rules of chapter 27 student transportation This chapter establishes provisions for ensuring the safe transportation of students to and from school and school related activities The
proposed amendments clarify existing laws and new rules to implement recent laws Dave Corso and Alan Dri are here to share a presentation on what we've learned since last last month Thank you Commissioner Um morning board members Um
today uh I'm going to u summarize uh the chapter 27 amendments Um there's three Um the first amendment is uh section 2.1 which clarifies the calculation of aid and loo payments for non-public school
uh student transportation pursuant to uh NJSA18 col 39-1 The second uh amendment is uh proposed new rules uh at section 7.6 Six which effectuates the public law 2024
chapter 81 that allows school districts to designate school personnel to drive students uh to and from school in private or districtowned vehicles while exempting them from the certifications and the standards um that apply to
school bus school buses and drivers And the third amendment is uh subchapter 14 which establishes the procedures needed um to implement the non-public school consortium transportation program
established by public law 2023 chapter 326 um at uh the last presentation Oh yeah that's right Sorry Um no changes were being proposed from first discussion and no comments have
been received uh as of this date Um so I can take any questions uh you may have about the items that was pres that were presented uh previously and today Any questions at this time or
comments from our board members janette not a question but again I just want to reiterate um how transformative I think this will be It's scary out there There's no bus drivers We finally got buses but we don't have bus drivers So
this is going to be um very helpful to districts in my opinion Thank you You're welcome Very good Thank you Any other comments or questions okay Hearing none I believe we can go to the next agenda item Thank you
Thanks everyone Thank you Moving to agenda item E professional standards Uh today I'm presenting at first discussion amendments and new rules to chapter 9 professional standards Chapter 9A New
Jersey Educator Preparation Programs and Chapter 9B State Board of Examiners and Certification The proposed uh amendments and new rules align with the three chapters that were recently uh readopted And so just to I'll steal a little bit
of thunder from my colleagues here This is uh really uh in the last year or so we've had several new laws come in to play in this area really uh focusing in on addressing teacher shortage and certification to to kind of ease uh
pinch points in that process So there's uh and we'll go through all the different statutes that have come through and you'll see it's a rather lengthy list So joining uh us for the presentation uh Ambrose Ducket assistant commissioner Paul Bloom executive director and they'll walk us through in
more detail Thank you Commissioner Good morning I think it's still morning Um President Goldenberg and board members we appreciate your attention today Um just as a recap in May of
2023 the state board readed NJAC 6A 9 9A and 9B Since the readoption there have been several laws enacted impacting educator
preparation programs commonly referred to as EPS and educator certification rules that were not within the time frame of the previous rule making To assist the field in implementing the laws the department is proposing amended
the new regulations related only to these specific laws which are now in statute These chapters govern processional standards New Jersey educational preparation programs and the state board of
examiners and certification The next two slides summarize the statutes that are being addressed in the proposed regulations We will not go through each one of these slides as the presentation will go into more detail on the actual
statute and the proposed changes within these chapters As you can see there are eight statutes that require amendments or new rules within our regulations And for the remainder of the presentation Executive Director Paula
Bloom will be walking through the proposed amendments and new rules aligned only to new or updated statutory requirements Paula Oh there I am Okay NJC
689 which contains the definitions of the chapters and the professional standards for teachers and leaders school leaders NJAC9A contains everything regarding approval of educator preparation programs and the requirements for entry
exit and completion of an educator preparation program The chapter uh NJAC 6A9B contains the certification requirements and the powers and duties of the state board of education
The department is proposing three new definitions because of the new statutes Performance-based assessments uh has been added because the of the elimination of the requirement of a candidate to take and pass a commissioner approved performance-based
assessment The new law requires educator preparation programs to establish their own performance-based assessment necess necessitating this definition The second definition that we are proposing is for culturally responsive teaching because
of the new statute that requires all teaching certification candidates attending an educator preparation program to complete a course on training or training on culturally responsive teaching Lastly the department is
proposing a definition per for professional education coursework to align with the statute that permits a EPS educator preparation programs to accept any number of credit hours from other institutions You may recall at the previous state
board meeting we spent some time on the new law that eliminated the practis core and the impact it had on the limited C and CAS certificates The department is proposing to eliminate practice core requirements throughout these chapters As this slide states the law requires
anyone seeking a limited CE to take and pass the practice core This does not impact candidates seeking a limited CAS because practice core is not one of the available flexibilities As this slide states the board can no longer require anyone
obtaining a certificate to take a commissionerapproved performance-based assessment commonly known as EDTPA However the performance-based assessment is not removed from the certification process entirely but rather the educator
preparation programs must create their own The department proposes to add a requirement for educator preparation programs which have a teacher of students with disabilities to include coursework on the autism disorder There are two additional statutes One that
requires an educator preparation program to include six credits towards special education in all the initial instructional certificate programs and another requires all teaching certification candidates to complete a course or training on culturally
responsive teaching Both statutes were required in the list of laws in the beginning of this presentation We will be proposing to amend the requirements for EP programs to include V6 credits towards special education as well as incorporating course or training on
culturally responsive teaching This law on the slide here was developed to ease some of the burden of obtaining a CASS or certificate of eligibility with advanced standing for individuals employed as a par profofessional in school districts The individuals who
enroll in an educator preparation program offering this pathway will no longer have to complete a clinical practice separate from their current employment This makes it easier for the PAR professional to obtain a certificate and is a cost savings because many
individuals who complete a CAS program must take a leave from their job to complete the clinical placements And here I'm showing uh our actual new proposed language within the um regulations and they align specifically
to the statute The department is proposing to delete the limit on the number of credit hours from an accredited county college that an educator preparation program may accept toward meeting requirements for teacher certification Currently this is
capped at 100 of the 350 credit hours in a CE program Here we are aligning the statute to allow aligning to the statute to allow an extension of 20 days of a person
holding a substitute credential if the school district can demonstrate they cannot fill the vacancy And again I'm showing on the slide the language that we will be using um for this amendment And lastly the department is
proposing this amendment for clarity The clarification is in alignment with the statute that the computer science certificate is required to teach in upper grade upper level grades whether full-time or part-time but an educator in a K6 certificate can continue to
teach computer science part-time Um Ambrose and I are here to answer any questions you may have Are there any questions question Thank you board member Pena please Thank you U so my question is and maybe
you stated it in your presentation but it wasn't clear to me Um so I just want to make sure So if somebody does obtain a limited CE um they take their core practice and they are teaching I don't know chemistry let's say they they have a master's in
chemistry do they still need to go back and complete any educator preparation coursework aside from the 50 hours that are required prior to their employment only because I get this question all the time People are saying
"Do I still need to do this i have a PhD in in robotics Do I still need to go back?" So I you know it limited CE certificate candidate would apply for the limited certificate Um they would ha now have to pass the
practice core and they are able to wave one of the requirements but uh the requirements still require them to go to an educator preparation program Okay Beyond the 50 hour one Yes Okay Thank you Mhm Thank
you Are there other questions at this time you know I I my um President Goldenberg I did have a question um just about the substitute um provision I know we talked about it some
but we want to put the best teachers in front of our students So right now a person comes in and they sub Um school districts I'm sure are are making sure that they have good people in there After 40 days that sub it is not able to
continue in that classroom Correct Is that correct okay Now if they're off a week or two and they haven't found somebody can that sub return to that classroom i wasn't clear on that No but do districts put that person back
into the classroom um we found in the sense where they have um there should be a new substitute It should be limited to the 40 days It's 20 days initially and then they have to ask for an extension for 40 days some of those you a you know
a foreign language teacher that they're difficult a physics teacher I I certainly understand you want to put you know the best person in there so I was just wondering is it that they need to take that pause and potentially you want
school districts to find the right person hopefully we're getting more people in the pipeline to want to be teachers um and we're making that better for them but I just really I would the substitute piece not necessarily them
being evaluated is is a piece that you want you know 20 days 40 days is a lot of time in a classroom It is and there's often conversations should be between the county and the school district and making sure that they work together to get a certified person in that that
position So just a key part of that whether it's the first 20 days or if they're seeking the extension for the the second 20 to get to the total of 40 it's about showing demonstrating that you're continuing to to seek to fill that And that's a really important thing as as Ambrose mentioned coordinating
with the county Um and in in that instance the county um can can work uh within other areas in the county where they might find a candidate or to help them in any way but just really to make sure that they continue that press um at the district level to fill that that
vacancy And and speaking of foreign I'm sorry board menu what um we've encouraged is shared services So what you'll see is if there is an extended period of time to maybe bring the kids in the classroom with a pair professional and then have a
teacher for a remote site teach those group of students together um because they're not able to get somebody on site in the school district So there is creative ways to have a certified professional teach students from one school district maybe located in another
school district Thank you Any um any other questions janette please Thank you So just going back to my previous question So I was just thinking um we know how difficult it is to get teachers Um going back to that example
of having someone who maybe has a a doctorate in in the STEM area which is what I'm finding I think people are making that decision between working in the private sector and they're saying you know what maybe summers off might be nice even though that's really we know
that's not really true but um they're coming into the the school system and so I I'm just trying to understand what would be the purpose of having someone who already has uh obtained a a terminal degree has a a doctorate they wrote a
book about the subject and and I always think you have to be a little bit out there if you're willing to go all the way to a PhD you're very passionate about what you're studying what would be the purpose of having them go back to get educator preparation coursework I
understand they don't have you know maybe knowledge on the the pedagogy required to teach at the younger uh levels but they already have probably taught in one capacity or another I just feel like it's almost like a roadblock Why were we doing this they're already
taking the 50-hour course on classroom management and whatnot Why would they need that are are is this just a a law that we have that requires it or just doesn't make sense to me Mhm So it's the only difference between a CE and a
limited CE is that an individual um was able to wave one of the requirements which are the subject matter course content So um for example they might wave that um they have to have a minimum GPA and a passing score
on the practice subject matter Um so and I if I could just add so um first of all this is statutory so this is a requirement and I want to just as recall Lisa in her presentation was mentioning
um when we're doing dual enrollment still a certificated teacher needs to review what's being taught So I this is not a disparagement of somebody with a PhD but they do not necessarily have teaching experience So there's uh the things that happen specifically within
an educator prep program are designed to help that individual not only learn the content that they'll be teaching but the pedigogy piece and so that requirement I think is is remains and so yes while they have extensive training in their
content area it's about that other side of teaching which we I think we all know is is a pretty significant component classroom management and stuff as you mentioned is part of it but it goes kind of beyond that So we certainly want to encourage folks with advanced degrees to
come into the the education uh field and I think some of these changes will help make that easier Um but I don't think that there's uh any statutory change here that kind of waves that part of the requirement
Thank you I just wanted to understand is it statutory yes Thank you Thank you And now I'd like to please call on Dr Butcher with a question Yeah I wanted to kind of echo what's being said here Uh when
originally we were setting up the criteria uh for individuals to get their licenses we had probably a couple years worth of discussions around essentially the same topics And and if you go back into the
statute and into our code it's it's bas basically it's all formed around three concepts One is knowledge two is skills and three is dispositions And and when you get into the category of somebody
myself having a PhD while I may have the knowledge base I don't necessarily have the skills or the dispositions that would make me a good teacher uh jokingly people would say you know Henry Kissinger is a brilliant person would
you want him teaching your children well you know the the the knowledge base was there but you know the ability to teach is something very different and when you get into dispositions that even throws another element in so I think what we're proposing here is is incompliance is
what's being said with not only the statute but our co existing code Thank you Anybody else have questions or comments at this time i'm sorry Kevin Did you want to Okay thank you
Thank you Thank you very much for the presentation It was excellent Thank you And I believe that brings us I believe that brings us to the end of our meeting And I would like to remind that next month the board members
who were here for public testimony are Janette Pena Mary Beth Barry Amed Shahada Ron Butcher Elaine Bobrove and Ned Johnson
So um please if you are unavailable for any reason please get a substitute for yourself And um other than that I would like to thank everyone for the meeting and thank you uh board member Bennett for taking over during the glitch with
technology And may I please have a motion to adjourn thank you very much And may I please have a second thank you I appreciate it Everyone have a wonderful month in April and we look forward to seeing you in Maine Thank you
all Thank you Thank you