e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e to call this meeting to order the New Jersey open public meetings Act was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meeting of the public bodies
at which any business affecting their interest is discussed 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 the time the place thereof posted in the
Department of Education Secretary of State's office and notice has been given to the State House Press cores the governor's office and the state board agenda subscribers and as the Quorum is present this meeting will now come to order may I please have a motion from a
board member thank you very much Dr butcher may I please have a second second thank you very much board member Bennett all those in favor please say I I
I thank you and now whereas in order to protect the personal privacy and to avoid situations wherein the public interest might be dis disserved the open public meetings act per permits public bodies to exclude the public from that
portion of a meeting at which certain matters are discussed and therefore be it resolved that consistent with the provision of njsa 10 colum 4-12 B the State Board of Education will now adjourn to executiv
session to discuss personnel and legal matters therefore may I please have a motion so move thank you thank you very much Dr butcher may I please have a second than you very much Amed um I appreciate it all those in
favor please say I thank you any opposed all right motion carries unan me thank you very much um we will be back we're going into executive session please turn off your um your
cameras thank you and your m e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e good morning everyone I'd like to please reconvene and resume our public portion of this meeting whereas consistent with the provision of njsa 10 col 4-12 B the state board will now adjourn from
executive session to resume the Open session of this meeting May I please have a motion from a board member thank you very much board member paa may I please have a second thank you very much board member shahada um all those in favor please say
I I any opposed please say nay there won't be abstentions but I should ask if there are any abstentions all right um I'd like to ask Dr butcher please to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance well good morning and I'd like to
welcome everyone back and thank you for joining us today um I have a a wonderful announcement to make and when good things happen it's a pleasure to announce them um
we we have the confirmation of our commissioner Kevin damer and it was a unanimous confirmation on February 2 5th 2025 by the New Jersey state senate as the leader of the Department of
Education and I get to say publicly but I'm probably not the first commissioner we are delighted to have you my sincerest congratulations it is the best news in the world that we have you leading us
especially at any time but this time in particular and I wanted to give you my congratulations so thank you was um the state board meetings are accessible to the public for viewing on
the Department's YouTube channel I would like to advise you that YouTube provides readily accessible language translation options in close captioning if you are viewing this simal cast right now you can use the settings options in YouTube
and it has information how to attain subtitles and closes captionings in multiple languages um now I'd like to please ask um for approval of our minutes from February 5th
2025 may I please um have a motion thank you thank you I believe that board member Bennett uh gave us the motion and board member Dr butcher uh gave us our second all those in favor
please say I I any any opposed please say nay any extensions public testimony our state board of education will receive public testimony today on chapter 8 standards
and assessment um board member mber Bennett board member Peña and myself are scheduled today to listen to the testimony for the month of April our state board of education will receive
public testimony on religious H holidays calendar resolution and Civic event amendments on chapter 32 School District Operations and amendments to chapter 27 which regards student transportation
and if I could I'd like to please ask excuse me I'm so sorry Anna pasca witz our senior from palmara high school of Burlington County her advisers if they're here Miss Kelly Jones and Miss Kim Marina could you Martino I'm sorry
could you please stand thank you so would you like to please give us your report thank you president Goldenberg and good morning everyone for an alarmingly long period of time a stigma has existed around the discussion and treatment of mental health across
the world in recent years this stigma has thankfully begun to diminish however there are still challenges and barriers that must be overcome to create the most accepting and comfortable environment possible therefore I wanted to take some time to shine a light on the role of mental health resources available in
schools and their importance in today's society students can face immense amounts of pressure from academics extracurriculars social or family life and as they plan for the future often a combination of these pressures can wyon a student's daily life and therefore their mental
state recent Studies have shown that among children ages 13 to 17 16% have mood disorders 34% have anxiety disorders and 20% have behavior disorders some of the most common diagnosis for this age group are anxiety
depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and schools serve a vital role since this is where students spend most of their time one of the most important ways to help students mental health is by talking about it last month National School counseling week was held to
advocate for the need of school counselors and the services they provide and here in New Jersey we have some incredible counselors who are constantly looking out for the mental health needs of students despite this students don't always use counselors as a resource possibly out of nervousness embarrassment or because they do not
realize that they can or need to talk to someone in the first place this is why it's important that schools step up and spread awareness about the importance of seeking help some ways to initiate this are by incorporating workshops and other discussions about mental health into a school's routine and curriculum panel
discussions or peer-led initiatives are a great way to create a positive Community focused environment in a school one thing that my school began doing this year was bringing in therapy dogs this this is a great way to remind students that their mental health is a priority and provides a distraction from
any stress they might be going through at the time when discussions about mental health and its treatment become a normal occurrence the stigma will eventually diminish and students will feel seen and heard with more General discussion over time students can feel more comfortable talking about their own stress and emotions whether that be with
a counselor teacher staff member or possibly even classmates another way to provide students with the resources they need is by taking a proactive approach to prevent scenarios where students feel they the need to seek help the large increase in Social and emotional learning in recent years has been
revolutionary however there is more that can be done teaching children life skills such as time management and how to deal with emotions at a young age can help students lower levels of stress and anxiety in the long run teaching empathy and communication can help students build positive relationships with one
another and teach them how to be better people as they grow and mature even the teaching of something such as goal setting May provide students with the capacity and motivation to stay focused and on task incorporating these ideas into curriculum especially at the elementary and middle school level can
help students start to understand their feelings at a young age and will translate through to high school and Beyond this will help prepare students for the realities of the world so that they are equipped to take on the challenges of life starting the discussion of mental health treatment and teaching about emotional development can translate into
positive impacts on schools and their environments by lowering stress children can be more FOC focused and engaged which in turn leads to better prepared students and higher test scores furthermore by enhancing social skills students are more likely to have positive relationships with peers and
teachers which can also contribute to a reduction in behavioral problems in the school community in addition it's been proven that students suffering from mental health challenges are more likely to miss school therefore when schools provide students with mental health issues the resources they need
absenteeism will decrease incorporating different types of Mental Health Resources will make a direct impact on students as they will be happier more productive and feel more supported by their school Community this is why it's critically important that mental health remain at the Forefront of educational
conversations thank you thank you very much well said um do you have comments please getting better at this uh so I I just wanted to comment and really kind of where you ended and um I really
appreciate your focus on the what it means for attendance to school because we know that particularly coming out of covid students uh were not attending school as much we saw chronic absenteeism rise across country New
Jersey's done better than other states all other states in fact but that being said we know that this is a Critic IAL issue because if they're not in school they're not able to learn and this comes down to the mental health of the individual students and understand
understanding those core reasons for why they felt that it wasn't uh they weren't up for going to school today um and this is this is takes a lot of work for us as adults and for uh families to to get their get a grip on that and what it
means to help that student get to a point where they're comfortable going into school every day so I I really appreciate your comments and I think it's it says a lot when students are seeing this and understanding what that means so I just want to thank you for that that's this is something that we've
been thinking about a lot at the department and I think you just put a exclamation point on it thank you thank you thank you and actually the whole nation is talking about it and thinking about it as well so you're extremely timely thank you very much um hearing no
other statements at this time um we'll go ahead please and continue to our state board committee reports and um I believe First we'll hear please from board member Bob rth about the administrative policy committee um the uh policy
administrative policy committee uh met twice in this month the first time was on February 11th to disc discuss the proposed amendment that the department is proposing as part of chapter 27 student transportation since this item is on
today's agenda as first discussion and the depart the department will be presenting the proposed amendments thank thank you wait I'm not done I just had to find the second one um the second meeting was on February
12 and that uh covered chapter nine which had to do with Professional Standards and Chapter 30 evaluation of the performance of school districts the administrative policy committee met on February 12th 2025 to receive an update
on the proposed read-option with Amendments of chapter 30 evaluation of the performance of school districts and you will hear about that a little later in the morning so I'll foro the remainder of my remarks on this topic we also received a presentation
regarding changes to state law that will necessitate amendments to educator certification and preparation regulations in chapter 9 9A and 9B and we expect that uh both items will be on
the State Board boards um um venue very soon and um that's it thank you all right thank you very much appreciate it um and now I will turn this over to our commissioner's
reports thank you madam president today I'd like to ask the state board members to consider a ceremonial resolution designating March as gifted and talented students month in New Jersey on January 13 2020 Governor Murphy signed the
strengthening gifted and talented Education Act which codifies school district responsibilities in educating gifted and twice exceptional students since the law was enacted an advisory committee was formed this committee consists of Educators parents and gifted
education experts who collaborate with the Department on how best to implement the law within New Jersey schools additionally both the office of supplemental education educational programs and the office of Standards have taken significant steps to support
gifted education the office of Standards has offered multiple professional learning opportunities for educators and gifted and talented programs and has revised guidance for identifying gifted Learners in accordance with the law the office of Supplemental Educational
programs has also conducted technical assistance sessions to help address key areas within gifted education for educators and school administrators New Jersey Educators continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to supporting the academic
growth and potential of gifted and twice exceptional students ensuring these Learners receive comprehensive and tailored educational experiences during the month of March we would like to acknowledge the substantial influence of gifted and talented students and
Educators within the state we're pleased to recognize March as gifted and talented students month with that I'll turn it back to president golden thank you very much commissioner damer um I would like to please ask
before we read the resolution ask for a motion in a second from our board members to read the resolution thank you very much sir Dr butcher may I please have a second thank you very much Mr shahada um
and now um I'd like to please ask Janette Peña to read the resolution and recognition of in recognition of the gifted and talented students month for
our great state of New Jersey thank you so much president Goldenberg um whereas the strengthening gifted in talented Education Act was signed into law on January 13 2020 and whereas as
shortly thereafter the New Jersey Department of Education established the strengthening gifted and talented education advisory committee consisting of five subcommittees to address law implementation identification programming the
intersectionality of cognitive and effective needs and professional development to best identify and serve the needs of gifted in students and whereas the New Jersey Department of Education collaborates with the advisory committee various New Jersey education
organizations and gifted and talented education experts from across the country to provide Educators with technical assistance on how to best support gifted and twice exceptional students and whereas it is the work of
these collaborative efforts that support Statewide and local Education Agency efforts in meeting the needs of gifted and twice exceptional students so they are provided the opportunity to fulfill their academic potential now therefore
be it resolved that the New Jersey state board of education and the commissioner of Education recognize the month of March as gifted and talented students month in New Jersey and honor the gifted and talented students of New Jersey as well as their
parents teachers and school leaders who are working to ensure that students have the resources and opportunities they need to succeed thank you very very much um now that the resolution has been read and there is a motion in a second on the table right
now I'd like to please ask all those in favor of accepting this resolution to please say I hi hi okay thank you are there any U anyone who would like to vote Nay please do so
at this time are there any absten at this time the motion passes unanimously and I would like to ask um the president of the New Jersey
Association for gifted children NJ AGC Miss Elaine chesbro to please come up and uh and co-chair of the identification subcommittee of the strengthening of gifted and talented education advisory committee is here
today as well to accept this resolution say a few words please thank you so much yes ma'am did I pronounce your last name correctly yeah would you like the microphone wait they can't hear
you and turn it on if it's not on please it you'll it'll turn green red when you turn switch up push it up would you like many people doesn't take turn on the
microphone my name is Elaine chesbro and thank you for pronouncing it correctly um and I brought with me two of the board members from njc Dr Lenor Cortina and Karen Howick first I want to say an ex uh Express a
thank you to Crystal senari and the office of standards for their dedication to gifted Ed their support has allowed us to share knowledge with Educators and administrators across the state ensuring
that more people understand the needs of the gifted students in our state I also want to thank you for recognizing gifted students month this is a big step in raising awareness of the unique needs of these kids and ensuring that they
receive the services that they need we've made a lot of progress in New Jersey through the strengthening gifted and talented Education Act and the we fondly call Scag the commit The Advisory Council we've set expectations on
identification and on providing services and programming for our students yet we continue to see gaps and with uh resources and opportunities varying greatly among students and districts and we continue to work to
fill those gaps and to provide the Essential Knowledge gifted Ed is a necessity it's not a privilege these students require appropriate challenges to stay engaged and to reach their potential when we invest in their
education we Foster Innovation creativity leadership and everyone benefits I'd like to ask Lenor to say a few words as well uh yeah I just basically wanted to speak about um we
feel like we're making progress but we don't know that we're making progress and we were here a couple of years ago when the department of Ed gave that presentation and it was disheartening to see how INE the inequities that were out there in New Jersey as they are nationally
um but I I think as we move forward we would love to see that data analyzed again and we're hoping that we we have made progress um in uh gifted education across this great state um one of the
other things I would like to to start to think about maybe and just start to discuss a little bit our teacher requirements there are no pre-service requirements or any requirements um as far as coursework formal coursework for teachers of the gifted so we're asking
for special specialized instructions we're asking teachers to give specialized instruction without any training basically we do the learning lounges we are so appreciative that um Crystal C area at the state has starting this initiative where we're having
learning lounges and districts are welcome to come to these um uh these workshops on different topics that will improve inequities in our state but if you could just maybe start the discussion start thinking about we are always open if you have any questions um
to talk about maybe enhanced teacher preparation and uh perhaps endorsement standards for teachers and then this is sorry go ahead hi everyone I'm Karen Howick and I'm here to give the parent
perspective um as parents we really do truly appreciate New Jersey has clear requirements for gifted education but there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that these children receive the services they need uh I regularly co-chair a parent meeting for gifted and
twice exceptional children and here are a lot of the issues that parents are experiencing within their districts for example some of the problems we hear that a district may only offer gifted services in math excuse me some parents say their districts tell them they might
start Services till third grade and obviously these leaves these Learners without the appropriate challenges they need as a parent myself to a child who was twice exceptional I know firsthand how difficult it can be to have their giftedness needs addressed and so
they're not limited by their disability we ask that the focus must continue to be on during districts fully understand and meet their obligations to provide Equitable access and meaningful services to all gifted Learners thank you thank you thank you and thank you
again thank you e you're if I may I have a question on that it was really exciting to hear your conversation about the positive things
but also disheartening to hear how much room there is to grow uh I personally started professionally working with Captain and talented a lot of years ago we'll just leave it at that a couple of you weren't born yet
then commissioner it occurs to me that there's probably you know having dealt with licensing and certification for many many years I I don't think I'm an advocate for getting licensing requirements or add-ons but there's so many certification programs that are out
there that the universities are offering even the private sector where individuals can go out participate in courses get a certification that at least demonstrates to the employers the school districts that they have in fact
taken it upon themselves to acquire certification is is there is there someplace we need to be looking for something like this commissioner he hates him when I drop bombs on him like that no I appreciate the conversation and this like obviously
we're recogniz this this what we're doing here today is shining a spylight on it that's why we're doing this this is not purely ceremonial all of those uh remarks that uh were shared are about advancing this work and I think that um
we've made significant progress in New Jersey we need to continue that Trend and so that's this is part of that ongoing conversation and we'll continue kind to explore all those areas that that were discussed so I appreciate uh the the spotlight that was Shin on that and I think that's really what this is
is emphasizing this March uh for uh focusing all of our attention on on what's needed to continue this progress so thank you and now um you have another thank you appreciate it uh moving on uh today
I'd also like to ask for your consideration of a ceremonial resolution designating March 3rd through 7th 202 5 as social and emotional learning week in New Jersey social and emotional learning or seal is the process through which
people acquire and apply the knowledge skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities manage emotions as well as Achieve Personal and Collective goals feel and show empathy for others establish and maintain supportive relationships and make responsible and
caring decisions beginning with the adoption of New Jersey social emotional learning competencies and subcompetencies by the State Board in 2017 we've continued support training and resources that have been made available to schools to advance the
development of these skills at a time when they're needed most seal helps students develop awareness empathy resilience which are foundational for academic success and personal well-being by equipping students with the skills to
manage emotions build positive relationships and make responsible decisions we're not only preparing them for academic challenges but also for life outside of the classroom as Educators we can create an environment where every student feels valued
respected and empowered to grow today we recognize our Educators for all their efforts to Foster social and emotional learning I'm pleased to join the State Board in celebrating social and emotional learning by recognizing March 3rd through 7th 2025 as SE week in New
Jersey through this resolution turn over to the president thank you commissioner I just love saying it um so um he deserves it our um the resolution
and recognition of Social and emotional learning week in New Jersey so I would like to please um ask that we first get a motion and a second from our board members and before we read the
resolution may I please have a res um a motion to accept this resolution thank you Dr butcher may I please have a second second second thank you very much board member Bennett and therefore board
member Bennett would you kindly read the resolution to us thank you resolution and recognition of Social and emotional learning week in New Jersey whereas the first first week in March has been designated as National social emotional
learning week by SLE for us and the urban assembly and whereas social and emotional learning seal is the process through which all young people and adults understand and manage emotions set and Achieve Personal and
Collective goals feel and show empathy for others establish and maintain positive relationships and make responsible decisions and whereas seal competencies develop throughout people's lives from Early Childhood through
adulthood and are essential to success in schools workplaces homes and communities and whereas seal develops important protective factors that buffer against emotional mental health risk by
promoting positive relationships emotionally safe environments and skill development and whereas Research indicates developing students social emotional skills leads to an increased ability to manage stress and depression
and maintain better attitudes about themselves and others and school and whereas building seal skills such as self-regulation positive relationships and problem solving is an essential component to cultivating trauma informed
learning environments which can help mitigate the impact of trauma as well as promote protective factors for students to support them in their academic success and whereas a stronger and
fairer New Jersey that continually moves forward relies on citizens who exhibit the Knowledge and Skills encompassed in New Jersey's SE competencies subcompetencies which include self-awareness self-management social
awareness responsible decision-making and relationship skills and whereas the New Jersey state board of education and the commissioner of Education continue to recommend school districts to implement the New Jersey social and
emotional learning competencies to promote safe supportive and rigorous learning environments in schools and whereas secl competencies enhanced educators capacities to navigate stressors Foster positive learning
environments and develop meaningful connections with colleagues and students and whereas seal advances School family Community Partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting caring and
collaborative relationships meaningful instruction and reflective evaluation and whereas seal can be incorporated districtwide within schools at every level of support as well as seamlessly embedded into different subject matters
throughout everyday instruction now therefore be it resolved that the New Jersey state board of education and the commission of Education hereby recognize March 3rd through 7th 2025 as social
emotional learning week in New Jersey thank you very much um there is a motion and a second on the floor is there any discussion before we vote hearing none all those in favor
please signify by saying I I I thank you are there any opposed please signify by saying nay are there any abstentions at this time hearing none it is unanimous and
the resolution carries thank you and now we have the pleasure of having uh Ms Elizabeth Ginsburg Advisory Board member of seal4
NJ and executive director of the Garden State Coalition of schools and Miss Ginsburg is here today to accept this resolution um I know Betsy Betsy has been a fierce advocate for students in public
education for at least 30 years and someone that I consider a dear friend uh Betsy it is an honor to have you here today to say a few words in behalf of seal for New Jersey push push it up the little uh
button is on is on the handle on the top thank you perfect thank you to uh Kathy my dear friend and to the New Jersey state board of education and the commissioner for
the resolution in support of seal week in New Jersey I want to give special thanks to Kelly Allen of the Department of Education who uh facilitated the resolution as well as last week's Proclamation from Governor Murphy Kelly
is an seal champion and deserves all the recognition in the world for this uh I'm here represent oh yes I'm here representing seal for NJ and its leadership team Elizabeth Hansen Warner Trish hindell Bill trusheim the
wonderful morce Elias Stuart green Christy beeden and Alicia Ry Haik uh I would remit be remiss um if I didn't also remember former State Board member Mark beeden who recruited me to this effort and made
invaluable contributions to seal4 NJ andal in our state the good news is that seal is happening in hundreds of schools all over New Jersey and thousands of schools around the world it is Central to curricula in countries like Finland and
Singapore which boast some of the most successful education systems in the world George HW Bush used the phrase a thousand points of light I think seal efforts each one unique to its setting and Community are the true thousand points of
light seal equips our students with the tools they need for success in life in every aspect of life as we heard self-awareness self-management social awareness relationship skills and responsible decision-making it breaks
down barriers to learning especially those faced by some of our most vulnerable students and helps all students be more receptive to basic and advanced instruction in short seal is integral to learning social emotional
learning is not an extra or an add-on to the educational process it is an infusion of Hope in our New Jersey schools as it is everywhere at this moment I can't think of anything more timely than seal thank you
there oh does anyone have any remarks to make at this time and if not we'll move forward Kelly thank you very much you've always been a go-to individual for me as well so thank you Miss Allen thank you
okay thank you uh moving to our next item today I present to you information regarding the limited Certificate of Eligibility and Certificate of Eligibility with advanced standing pilot program the presentation today will provide an overview of the pilot program
as well as some of the key findings based on the data that we've got so far Ambrose Ducket assistant commissioner and Paul Bloom executive director are here to present an overview of the pilot program and respond to any questions you've got good morning president Goldenberg
Vice President Johnson and members of the State Board today we're presenting for informational purposes only a report on The Limited Certificate of Eligibility and Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced standing pilot program The
Five-Year pilot program started in 2022 2023 school year and will conclude after the 2026 27 school year in this presentation we will be providing an overview of the pilot along with the
summary of findings so far for the pilot program BR and with that being said I'm going to turn it over to the executive director Paula Bloom who will continue with the presentation thank you so today I will be using two abbreviations
throughout the presentation and I want to make sure that that's clear so uh the first one would be the CE which is a Certificate of Eligibility and the other one is the C which is the Certificate of Eligibility with Advanced standing so the limited I have to do the
power point to I guess I forgot hold on one second maybe oops did I go too far I sure did okay The Limited CE and C pilot
program was enacted in 2021 with a start date of July 1st 2022 the pilot program allows for candidates with a limited CE or C to wave a requirement in order to obtain a certification the pilot program has
potential to alleviate some of the teacher shortages while allowing individuals struggling to meet a certain requirement for certification to become certified individuals who hold a limited CE or ceas may only work in a school district that has been approved by the
commissioner to employ a limited CE or C holder The Limited certificates are only for instructional certificates not administrated this this slide shows the menu of requirements for which a candidate can request one exemption to obtain a
limited CE they are the minimum number of subject matter course content credits the minimum required grade point average the minimum score on a commissioner approved assessment of basic skills or core
competencies or a passing score on the new Jersey state approved practice subject matter assessments okay in 2024 a new law was enacted which eliminated the requirement to take practice core or commonly known as the basic skills test in order to
obtain certification in New Jersey did that go too far however this law also impacted the limited certificate pilot program as a result of the elited elimination of practice core as a requirement to obtain certification it is no longer necessary
to wave the practice core through the limmited ccas program the candidate is now eligible for an initial C C certificate however since the candidate can only wave One requirement through
the limmited CE C program a candidate seeking to wave a requirement other than practice core would still need to pass the practice core to be eligible for the limited CE this does not impact candidates
seeking a limited C because practice core is not one of the available flexibilities um there are these are the exemptions available to individuals seeking a limited C which are an exemption for a minimum required GPA or
a paxing score on the pr practice subject matter assessments so the this slide and the next summarizes some findings for the pilot program thus far the findings are based on the 2223 and 2324 school years
the first item on the slide speaks to the number of Educators obtaining limited certificates as you can see some Educators hold multiple limited certificates the top five endorsement areas for limited certificates are
Elementary School grades kindergarten through six preschool through grade three students with disabilities English as a second language and Spanish the next bullet on the slide shows that 35% of limited certificate
holders have a certificate in a teacher shortage area and are working in that area the highest percentage of teachers working in the teacher shortage areas were in World languages and English as a second language approximately half of the
teachers holding a limited certificate were teaching in the area of the limited certificate approved school districts May employ Educators with limited certificate but instead of teaching may be employed as an administrator or Educational Services Personnel like a school social worker or a school
counselor we found that the practice one test was the most Exempted requirement for The Limited CE followed by the GPA and the prais 2 the practice 2 was the only Exempted requirement for The Limited
ceas holders The Limited C and CE educators are overall more racially diverse than the current New Jersey teacher one of the reasons the legislature passed the limit CCE law was to see if it had an impact
on racial diversity of the teacher Workforce the evaluation data of teachers holding a limited CE or C indicates the majority have received effective summative ratings The we in addition to Gathering
the data we also administer a survey to the approved school districts that have employed individuals who teach in The Limited certificate area so this data represents the uh survey data that was collected in 2223 from 80 school
districts and it shows that 84 School per of school districts that indicated they would hire more limited certificate holders um they also stated that 78% of them stayed in the position for the 2223
school year and that they would um employ and have the return um in the 23 24 school year um at 88% so this shows a positivity rate from the school districts that um they do like the
limited ccas program so with that it concludes my presentation for you uh regarding our pilot program I'm happy to answer any questions do we have any data collected yet on how the students did with the
teachers that took advantage of our pilot program mhm so there are so few limited uh certificate holders right now that we H we would have to suppress the data um because it would be identifiable in terms of the student achievement for those teachers so we don't have that now
but as the number of teachers increase over the five-year period we're hoping to be able to provide that data what was the total number of school districts oh I'm sorry I was go ahead go ahead
I didn't see I'm sorry uh what was the total number of districts that made use of it because apparently districts have to apply so was 80 the total in 2223 okay thank you do you have any data on how many uh
of the applicants were looking for an exception to be able to teach you know math science those very difficult teaching positions to that for yes I don't think I have that with me
currently but we can certainly provide a full um idea of every certificate that was issued we have a we have that thank you yep more a comment than a question but something that leads into future
development these stats on teacher retention are incredible I'm sorry the stats you have here for Teacher retention after year one are incredible yep the beginning teacher induction Center of Rowan fell under my administrative jurisdiction and I'm
familiar with the data and and how difficult it is to keep teachers into a you know retention basis these numbers are off the chart yes we're very happy with this hang on to that then keep doing what you're doing thank you are there more questions
or com comments at this time fascinating thank you very much all right thank you thank you right thank you and and with that we're ready to move into items for consideration our standing item a for
appointments um there are no appointments today so we'll move uh right along to Item B another standing item on the agenda certification of school districts likewise there are no districts for certification this month
so we will move right along into uh agenda item C and today I'm pleased to announce that Miss Valerie amund deloro has generously donated $25,000 for the sole use of supporting
student activities such as field trips yearbooks and student clubs at the Marie Kats andback school for the day uh Miss Kathy aing assistant commissioner is here to provide any additional deals details or answer any questions you might
have such a generous gift um hearing no questions at this time um I'd like to ask for a motion to accept the donated funds as presented moment a moment ago thank you thank you very much second
from Janette uh primary motion was from ahed Shahar thank you um is there any discussion no um all right all those in favor of accepting the Don of accepting the donation please signify this by
saying I I anyone of please signify by saying nay any extensions anyone have a conflict of interest hearing none motion carries unanimously thank you so much thank you thanks K thank you K thank
you moveing to a agenda item D religious holiday calendar resolution today I'm presenting for discussion a resolution that provides the list of religious holidays permitting student absence from school for the 2025 2026 school year the
resolution acknowledges that some dates may vary due to differences in the lunar Gregorian and jul Julian calendars once it adopted the list of religious holidays will be distributed to districts and charter schools and will be posted on the Department's
website Mr Ambrose Ducket and Robert Gregory executive director are here uh to answer any questions um and I think the the headline here is that we haven't changed added or subtracted any holidays uh from the prior calendar correct
correct uh thank you commissioner uh the list of religious holidays requires districts to excuse students for religious observance upon written requests of the parent and or Guardian the list of religious holidays is a resolution annually adopted by the State
Board of Education and to date as the commissioner mentioned we have no additional holidays to the 2025 2026 calendar are there any questions yes the terminology utilized
is um the parents will provide a written request I think request asks for an answer um maybe yes or no so I just I guess my my fear is that using the word request it should be a written
announcement or notification yeah because it isn't up to the district if we vote on this if it is accepted it must be accepted by that's just my thought don't know if anyone agrees or disagrees
but notification it is thank you um are there any other thoughts or questions to no not at this time okay thank you very much we will um
there will be no vote on this sir until May right and um we will have the resolution up for public comment next month in April for anyone who would like to um give us their thoughts so thank you very
much these two gentlemen are going to stay for agenda item e evaluation of the performance of school districts today I'm presenting for adoption the reopt with Amendments of chapter 30 evaluation of the performance of school districts
this chapter establishes a comprehensive single accountability system for monitoring and evaluating school districts called the New Jersey quality single accountability Continuum or NJ qac under njac school districts are
evaluated in five key component areas of school district Effectiveness the appendices of this chapter established the standards and criteria used to evaluate school districts and County Special service school districts in the areas of instruction and program fiscal
management governance personnel and operations once again Mr Ambrose Ducket and Robert Gregory are here to walk us through this presentation uh president Goldberg I'm gonna recuse myself and step outside the room for this thank you I'll come get you after thank
you yes sir all right thank you commissioner good morning again president Goldenberg board member State boy members Robert Gregory and I are here to provide a summary of comments the department receives since proposal
level regarding Chapter 30 and six non-substantive changes that the department is making at adoption level since proposal the department received 89 comments from 22 commoners regarding
the proposed amendments Chapter 30 as noted on this slide most of the comments came from District administrators School library media specialist and education associations all of whom provided comments and support of the dep
Department's proposed amendments comments and support center around amendments at the Imp which is instruction and program District performance review that shift points from Achievement indicators to growth
indicators while rebalancing points to ensure our evaluation of the school district's Effectiveness is Equitable regardless of the district's grade configuration one superintendent described the Imp instruction program
amendments at indicators 1 through five as a shift towards a growth oriented accountability system commenters also appreciated our responsiveness to their concerns what voice throughout the regulatory process as example as an
example School library media Specialists Express gratitude for the agency initiated change at governance indicator 14 approved by the state board at proposal level which clarifies a requirement that school districts
provide library media services in each School building under the direction of an slm s and that's a school library media specialist other comments received since
proposal level saw clarification on processes within the chapter or where requests that did not warrant amendments such as canis School District replace one low achieving District performance review area with a high performing area
or could we eliminate State assessments as an indicator for instruction program District performance review the department responded accordingly providing commoners with clarification of Provisions within the chapter when
warranted or rationale for denial of their proposed amendments based on the comments the department is recommending three non-substantive changes Additionally the department is making three non-substantive agency initiated changes
summarized on the next slide Department's non-substantial changes include um or punctuation changes to improve Clarity grammatical and non-s staned word changes to improve Clarity and
sentence structure and clarification on statutary statutory citations and at this point Robert Gregory and I are happy to respond to any questions that the board may have any questions from our board members
please let me know that you'd like to speak hearing none I would like to please ask for a motion thank you very much board member Pena may I please have a second thank you very much board member Bennett
um all those in favor please say I all I think we should get abstain officially he can't can he recuse himself if he can't vote oh can he abstain if he's recusing him no okay never mind all those in
favor we've said I all those opposed please say nay any abstentions at this time hearing none the motion carries unanimously thank you so much thank you Bo president thank you State Board of
Education thank you thank you sure don't know where he is feel free to stand and stretch for a moment thank you so much so now we'll proceed to our next discussion point we are moving
into item F standards and assessments second discussion um and as mentioned I'd like to present for a second discussion the reopt with amendments for chapter 8 standards and assessment this chapter addresses the New Jersey student learning standards and state assessments
among other critical components of our state's educational system Dr Jordan Shi and Miss Lisa habo executive director will go through the proposed amendments that we discussed in the first discussion in February and recap the rationale behind them and share how the
department has been continuing to be responsive to this landscape and uh share uh an update on public comments thank you commissioner good morning um president Goldenberg Vice President Johnson and members of the State Board of Education we are pleased to join you
this morning to engage in a second discussion regarding New Jersey Administrative Code chapter 6A col 8 standards and assessment as you may recall from the first discussion last month the chapter which implements the New Jersey student learning standards
and the Statewide assessment system is scheduled to expire on May 3rd 2025 last month we shared with you proposed amendments to streamline and clarify rules procedures and operations and update terminology and rules to align to Provisions throughout title 6A of the
New Jersey Administrative Code title 18a of New Jersey statutes the elementary and secondary Education Act and the individuals with disabilities Education Act rules that were effective during a limited time frame or referencing defunct programs were proposed for deletion as well 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 postsecondary 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 of this proposal package this includes an
introduction of accountability measures like a corrective action plan for non-compliance with the New Jersey student learning standards professional development requirements as required by law and the regular use of disagre ated data to Monitor and improve student
outcomes the public comment period opened last month with first discussion on February 5th please note that two comments were received just yesterday we are still accepting comments throughout the next few months and the board will be receiving oral testimony this
afternoon we thank you for your time and attention and we're here to answer any questions that you may have about this chapter and the proposal thank you question at this time from our board members he forward to hearing the public
testimony this afternoon I'll probably have more to say afterwards me too all right um hearing no other questions or comments at this time um we
can go ahead then and discuss student transportation but thank you very much I know you've been working very hard thank you thank you Jordan thank you Lisa moving into agenda item G today I'd like to present at first discussion proposed amendments and new rules to
chapter 27 student transportation the chapter establishes Provisions for ensuring the Safe Transportation of students to and from school and school related activities the sub chapter is proposed for Amendment and new rules address exceptions to the
requirement for vehicles and drivers transporting students in small vehicles under certain circumstances and a Consortium for the transportation of non-public school students David Coro assistant commissioner and Alan Dei executive director I think president
goldber I'm gonna sir refuse myself uh we'll uh take it away with a presentation of the changes uh good morning uh state board members
um I'm here to present uh amendments to chapter 27 uh the student transportation regulations um so this chapter's purpose is to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of students to and from
school and school related activities we are proposing amendments in three areas um one Amendment uh section 2.1 will clarify the calculation of Aid L payments for non-public
students the second proposed amendment at section 7.6 will effectuate a public law 2024 chapter 81 which was passed last year which allows school districts to designate School Personnel uh to drive
students to and from school in a private or District owned vehicle while exempting them from C ifications and the standards that apply to school buses and drivers and the third amendment um is uh proposed new sub chapter 14 which will
establish procedures uh needed to implement non-public school Consortium Transportation programs and that was established by public law 2023 chapter 326 so the First Amendment which is to clarify the uh current rule for Aiden
Loop payments um and basically what that is doing is um prating uh the aenl payment for students who are registered for less than a full year um which is 100 one one times 180 Day times the
number of days remaining so in other words what we're doing is we're clarifying that if a student leaves during the school year or comes during the school year the Aiden L payment will be prated good uh the amend the Amendments for public law 2024
chapter 81 allow districts to designate School Personnel who are not licensed as school bus drivers to transport the students between their home and the school in a vehicle with a capacity of eight or fewer passengers excluding the
driver uh the new rules will accomplish the following it'll require districts to adopt the policy and requirements for driver eligibility it'll establish a process for districts to submit a list of drivers and their qualifications to our County Office uh by July 15th and it
will it ensures that the vehicles used for transporting students um are meet federal and state standards um so in terms of driver eligibility the new rules list uh the requirements of uh a driver must meet to
be eligible as a designated driver under this section so drivers must be employed by the district uh at least 21 years old have passed the New Jersey driver's license uh has possessed sorry uh a New Jersey driver's license for at least
three years uh they will be required to receive uh basic safety training in accordance with the uh law that uh governs um safety training it's up there and uh training for interacting with students with disabilities in accordance
to uh that law uh it you have to provide documentation of a physical exam criminal history check child abuse record and driving record for the previous 5 years driver abstract and you it's um got to provide written consent
for the district to access their driving record on a monthly basis so this slide will uh delineates the vehicle requirements um you must have a capacity of eight or fewer passengers excluding
the driver um may be a private vehicle or a district owned vehicle are exempt from the inspection maintenance and other standard requirements that apply to school buses um unless they're used for transporting students for other purposes uh must meet all the
requirements of federal and state standards um and requirements specific to the uh vehicle in accordance with the transpor and for special ID students for the transported um I IEPs so if there's IEPs if transportation is required in
the I P they must meet those requirements uh and the last proposed um sub Amendment for is for sub chapter 14 uh what sub chapter 14 what the public law uh did is it established a
three-year non-public Consortium transport Transportation program and the rules that are required to accomplish this are as follows the rules the regulations establish eligibility for participating in the uh Consortium
program it establishes requirements for all affected parties the Consortium the school district the non-public schools the parents the county offices and the oversight committee and it uh ensures account accountability in the consortiums transportation program
programs implementation through procedural oversight uh so the Consortium assumes School District respon the Consortium will be assuming the school districts requirements uh for transporting and payment for member non-public uh school
students um districts that choose to participate in the Consortium uh maintain responsibility for the uh for State reporting of of eligible students that's through our DRS system and general oversight over the transportation provided to their resident non-public school
students uh each Consortium must have a five person commissioner appointed oversight committee that will monitor the uh consortium's operations Consortium members the Consortium members are UH
responsibilities um the responsibilities for non-public schools and non-public school parents are similar to those uh non-public uh similar to those for non-public members sorry except that uh member non-public schools and parents
will interact with the Consortium rather than the school rather than directly with the school District so that um the school district will not be interacting with the non-public the way it is now the um they'll the uh they'll end up
um sorry that's okay they'll end up um working directly with the Consortium so it takes the school district out of the process uh members member non-public schools must disperse collect verify the accuracy of the student Transportation Act
applications member non Public School parents must complete the application um for the transportation and payment vouchers and um pay the actual cost if their children is not eligib eligible for the transportation services uh but
is provided trans uh subscription busing by the Consortium thank you thank you very much I'll take any questions you have about Transportation um Dr butcher first
bad you clarified about Transportation I had a lot of questions okay now I have to limit it to this right personal confidence under vehicle requirements tell tell me about the
inspection and criteria for a smaller vehicle that's eligible for the program and what kind of inspection they have to go through make sure the vehicle is functional and and I'll and I'll tell you why I'm asking
uh you go through Motor Vehicles right now with your own personal vehicle and it's private comment you know kind of a joke what they do when you go for through for reinspection that's all they need to do that's all they need to do correct so as long as they go through
DMV correct get that inspection for the vehicle yes so in a in a school district um in a school district uh for uh buses Vans they have their own vehicle inspection in fact the DMV comes out to
the uh District uh before school starts and inspects the Vans inspects the uh buses this this law allows that to go away for personal use vehicles and they only have to go through the New Jersey inspection that you would go through I I
personally believe that's a problem because I I'm not happy with the DMV's uh you know certification I've had I've had the uh opportunity to go through example Vermont's inspection system it's 10 times more rigorous you know when that car came come comes out the other
end it is in good shape uh there's so many potentials for air uh when that vehicle goes through what New Jersey does just raising an alert and a concern that I have regarding that uh I'll leave it at that thank you
you're welcome next we have uh board member paa with the question and then we have board member Bennett with the third question or comment thank you so I actually have two questions um do you know how many consortiums we currently have uh we currently have one Consortium
it's the Lakewood uh Consortium it was established um by its own legislation the three districts that participate in the Lakewood Transportation Consortium are Jackson Lakewood PS
River and how many do we know this is very specific I was just curious how many people actually take advantage of it how many students are they transporting well if you account in at least Lakewood is 30,000 okay that's um it's used yeah oh no it's and Jackson's
I think is around 5,000 5,000 and Tom's River is is is climbing uh I would say two or 3,000 maybe yeah that's significant okay and then I had another question just for a little bit of clarity on page six you had indic it's
indicated here must meet all state and federal standards and requirements specific to the vehicle and in accordance with the transported students IEP what exactly are you so refering to so um if a student IEP requires them to be transported in a
certain way I.E nurse wheelchair any of the yeah so if you were transporting a special needs student with an i p and the IEP indicates that there has to be um special requirements for
transportation that that has to be that has to be accomplished they have to they have to provide for the IEP thank you so much for clarifying thank you uh board member Bennett or member peña's questions about the consortion number and about the IEP and
services for those youngsters being transported were my two questions so thank you Janette great thankot that was an easy one does the district Supply that transportation for those students that you mentioned the 5,000 and the 30,000 no the cons the
Consortium does that the Consortium the Consortium and it's only non-public it's only non-public students I see okay gotcha thank you uh I believe Dr butcher has another question I have my hand up as well tell me about the the process for the smaller vehicles thank
you does the district assign students to a particular vehicle that's up to the district okay that's not that's not stipulated in our regulations in other words um if the coach of the volleyball
team wants to use their car to transport the children the the volleyball players they would have to be they would have to be an assigned uh driver and have to go through all the criteria that would that I they would have to have the driving record checked I mean more likely than
not they're a teacher okay but would have had the criminal history background so the district has to designate who's going to drive you can't just say Okay Allan get the car and drive somebody so can parents say no I don't want my child
to drive in that vehicle I don't want my my children to go with that particular person how does that well so the regulations don't address that but that would be that would be the the parent going to the superintendent and saying I
don't want the foot I don't want the volleyball coach driving my kid my child yeah my my interest is more in the in the safety and reliability of the vehicle as opposed to the driver all it has to do is pass inspection okay thank you thank you uh
board member arcelio Aon your hand is up thank you so much sir thank you madam president um I'm surprised to hear that there's only one Consortium in the state and um besides providing the service I would imagine as an opportunity to
reduce cost as well and so why why and and I would also I guess assume that smaller school districts may want to offer or or or or or participate in Consortium so that they can reduce their their operating cost so uh is there an
opportunity to reduce cost and and provide just a higher level service this is my question uh um um past president op Ponte we missed your statement if you could please repeat it
sir okay let's just try this again um so I as I mentioned I was surprised to to hear that there's only one Consortium um and it I would imagine that uh the benefits of the Consortium
would be delivering services but also reducing operating cost so I'm wondering why um public school districts particularly the smaller ones are are not are taking advantage of
the opportunity for Consortium or or participating in Consortium to reduce their operating cost and potentially improve upon services so the question is whe whether or not you know there's an opportunity to reduce cost here in some of the smaller school
districts so I think it's an excellent question uh and I the that's the reason that uh the law was passed this is a pilot to C expansion so the current Consortium that exists under uh was created under a prior law and so this is
really building on that model seeking what what an expansion across the state might look like so this is really the beginning of that process to see what it might look like if we try this areas exactly to your point to see what other benefits whether they're cost savings or
uh provision of Services where we might not be able to provide it elsewhere elsewise um so that is exactly kind of the design of this is to try this out under this pilot program great thank you other comments or
questions at this time s I'll just um sorry I see Dr Johnson has a question uh just going back to the vehicle part of and I I just want to take a step back because this this law was passed um under the ospice of uh sign ific shortages that we were facing on both
school buses and school bus drivers um in in recent history so this is really to address those needs and focusing in on what's available essentially so building out current regulations that allow for after school activities this would this would add in limited
circumstances where to and from school could be added um and I think this is intended to be with you know input from parents that are impacted uh to to your point previously so I appreciate those concerns and this is kind of what we're we're trying to address this while
taking into account you know some limitations so this is not just a wide openen uh program thank you thank you sir uh Dr Johnson Vice President Johnson your question please or comment good morning just a quick
question in regards to um do you have data on the number of districts that have their own fleets versus is subcontracting those Services yeah they do we have data we want to together it's about roughly 5050
G so it we have data we can look at the um numbers in most districts It's a combination actually they may do um they might operate their own Fleet for the purposes of their public school students and then contract out for non-public school students or students
who have special transport Transportation needs such as those going to a private school for students disabilities or a County Vocational School District but probably roughly half of school districts have at least some amount of IND District um provided
Transportation thank you thank you sir any other questions at this time um again uh public testimony in April uh Jack has a question I didn't see his
hand oh Jack sir uh but what I was going to say is and let me just finish that thought please that next month um you that will be part of the public testimony for people about the transportation this is just the first uh
public discussion that we're having uh Jack would you like to ask or make a comment you're muted can you hear me now yes sir does the regulation require Defensive Driving uh
on a yearly or every other year uh training uh so that uh you know that the drivers are uh you know sharp enough to uh perform the uh services that uh are safety that will
protect the children etc etc do you have that in that program defense defensive D the defensive driving uh course or program is not required in this regulation uh can you tell me why not yeah I think just just to clarify so
this is building out really the framework that was this is a law that passed yeah this is just flushing that out so if we were to add that that would extend add an additional requirement beyond the statutory requirement so that would not that's that's not allowed
essentially in a requirement in in a regulation to add such a substantive additional requirement that goes beyond the statutory requirement uh thank you uh commissioner thank you for the question any other question questions or comments
at this time seen and seen none um thank you very much thank you for the discussion appreciate it thank you the items for uh for consideration rather thank you and now um I'd like to please ask for a motion to
adjourn thank you I hear uh Dr buter first and a second from board member Peña please second from board member paa all those in favor please say I I any opposed please say
nay we're voting to end the meeting um okay I any abstentions the mo the meeting now closes thank you have a very safe month and be careful in the weather that's
coming here thank you e e