P.O. Box 909 ● Trenton, NJ 08605-0909 ● Phone: 609.695.7600 ● Fax: 609.695.0413 ● Web: www.njsba.org/PI

NEWS SERVICE: Back to School 2011

August 18, 2011

New Jersey school students return to the classroom this year seeing a number of changes.

Many will return to more crowded classrooms. All will be covered by a new state law, the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights. And many belong to school districts that have faced a revolving door of superintendents running their schools.

To assist reporters in covering back-to-school issues this fall, the New Jersey School Boards Association is providing the following resources:

Third of Districts Expect Larger Class Sizes – NJSBA survey While 32 percent of school districts expect larger class sizes in 2011-2012, that figure is down from last year due to local school board efforts to reduce non-instructional spending, shifts in enrollment and the $250 million state funding increase recommended by the governor in February.

New Anti-Bullying Law Implemented New Jersey students returning to school this year will be the first to be covered by what is considered to be the most stringent anti-bullying laws in the nation. Signed into law in January, the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act provides additional protection against harassment, intimidation and bullying. For public schools, it means a heightened level of attention on school bullies – and a new set of challenges.

Superintendent Turnover Increases  Last year, 29 percent of New Jersey school districts changed superintendents – the highest rate in the 10 years that the New Jersey School Boards Association has tracked superintendent turnover. Contributing factors include new superintendent salary caps and new laws that require public employees to pay a greater share toward pension and benefit costs.

For more information on these or any other education issue, contact Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org) or Mike Yaple (myaple@njsba.org) at (609) 278-5202.

The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of 587 local boards of education and includes 62 charter school associate members. NJSBA advocates the interests of school districts, trains local school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of public education.