The State Board of Education convened for its monthly meeting on Sept. 9, 2026, and discussed the topics below. A recording of the meeting can be found on the New Jersey Department of Education’s (NJDOE) YouTube page.
Report of Student Representative
The State Board’s student representative, Emilia Reynolds, gave her monthly report, which focused on students’ return to school. Specifically, she spoke about summer learning loss and the need for high-quality summer learning opportunities.
NJDOE Strategic Plan
Members of the State Board have met with the Commissioner and NJDOE staff to draft a new strategic plan for the Department. The overarching goal of the plan is to ensure “every New Jersey student is safe, supported, and successful.” The four major priorities of the plan are early excellence, student supports, inspired instruction, and future pathways, and the cross-cutting enablers across each initiative are teacher workforce, school funding, and data and analytics. More information can be found in NJDOE’s presentation.
Monthly Literacy Update
As part of an ongoing series of conversations on literacy, Commissioner Laux highlighted a recent announcement regarding screener data upload flexibility that NJDOE anticipates will make it easier for districts to report data from literacy screeners throughout the coming school year. Results from early-year screening will be made available to the State Board in November.
Updates to NJDOE’s Organizational Structure
The State Board approved several changes to NJDOE’s organizational structure. Of note, the State Board approved the appointment of Jackie Gibbs to the newly created position of Chief Accountability Officer, in which she will lead a new Division of Accountability and Analytics. The Office of School District Fiscal Oversight was also created within the Division of Finance and Business Services; this new office comes in conjunction with funding in the FY2027 state budget dedicated to help improve district fiscal accountability and support districts navigating financial challenges.
Certification of School Districts
Since the State Board’s Aug. 2026 meeting, NJDOE conducted five NJQSAC interim reviews and 42 full reviews. The State Board approved 35 districts for certification as high performing.
Resolution to Approve NJ-SSEAC Appointments
The State Board approved appointments to the State Special Education Advisory Council (NJ-SSEAC), which is required under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and is responsible for offering advice, consultation, and recommendations to the State Board and Commissioner on matters of unmet needs concerning special education and related services in New Jersey public schools. Five individuals were reappointed and seven new individuals were appointed to the council, all for two-year terms effective Sept. 9, 2026.
Adoption of Cut Scores for NJSLA-A in ELA and Mathematics
The State Board adopted a resolution approving the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment-Adaptive (NJSLA-A) cut scores for English Language Arts and Mathematics. For additional information, please see the NJDOE’s presentation to the State Board, which begins at timestamp 1:43:30 of the archived meeting.
Discussion of Amendments to Educator Evaluation Regulations
The State Board discussed proposed amendments to N.J.A.C. 6A:10, Educator Effectiveness. Members of the public will be able to testify on the proposed amendments at the State Board’s next monthly meeting on October 7.
Chapter 10, which establishes the system of evaluation for teachers, principals, assistant principals, vice principals, and other certificated staff, is scheduled to expire on July 6, 2027. The chapter provides the requirements for the evaluation of teaching staff members’ effectiveness to further the development of a professional corps of state educators and to increase student achievement. According to the NJDOE:
The proposed amendments that accompany this readoption of N.J.A.C. 6A:10 represent a strategic evolution of the Department’s educator evaluation framework. Grounded in the findings of the 2024 Governor’s Task Force on Educator Evaluation and the subsequent 2025 Evaluation Working Group, the Department seeks to modernize the regulatory landscape for educator evaluations. The proposed amendments will shift the rules toward a performance-based system that prioritizes instructional feedback, professional growth, and a more direct connection between evaluation results and professional development planning, thereby leading to growth of the educator.
More information is available in NJDOE’s presentation.
The next meeting of the State Board will take place on Wednesday, October 7, 2026.
