State Board of Education Reviewed Camden Annual Report, Proposed Updated Educator Preparation Rules and Took Other Action at Its June Meeting

At its June meeting, the State Board of Education heard updates and acted on the following items:

• Resolution in Honor of the 2024-25 Permanent Student Representative, Anna Paszkiewicz —The state board passed a unanimous resolution in support of its outgoing student representative, Anna Paszkiewicz, thanking her for her service. A senior at Palmyra High School, Anna will be attending Boston College in September 2025.

• Annual Report of the State-Operated School District of Camden —The board heard its annual update on the Camden School District.  The district continues to make steady improvements but continues to see challenges in its NJQSAC scoring for which it has implemented a district improvement plan. The district continues to strengthen its financial operations and fortify its internal controls.  However, payments to charter and renaissance schools continue to rise with over half of the district’s budget consisting of these payments.  The district’s student population decreased by approximately half in the last 10 years.  Staffing levels diminished with a decrease of more than 280 positions in the last two years. The district continues to improve its transportation infrastructure, ensuring that every eligible student has a seat on a school bus at a reduced cost to the district. Academically, student performance on state tests continues to improve, with growth in both English language and mathematics. Camden continues to improve its school facilities with the district embarking on the construction of a new Eastside High School to replace the current one. Camden continues to increase its career and technical education pathways and has increased its partnerships with many local employers. The district continues to combat chronic absenteeism, achieving an 87% average daily attendance rate. See the Camden annual report here.

• NJDOE Organizational Update —The NJDOE unveiled an updated organizational structure, which had not been modified since 2022.  The changes aim to streamline the work of the department.

• Meeting Dates for the Upcoming Year —The board approved its meeting schedule for the upcoming fiscal year.

• Donated Funds —The board accepted $1,750 in donated funds from the Lions Club of Warren Township for the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf to support student activities such as field trips, yearbooks and student clubs.

• Educator Preparation Programs –  The board formally proposed its updated rules for educator preparation. The proposed rules will ensure alignment with recently enacted laws, including:
  • Eliminating the requirement to complete a commissioner-approved test of basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills to obtain an instructional certificate.
  • Creating a paraprofessional educator preparation pathway to expedite the process for paraprofessionals and instructional assistants to obtain certificates of eligibility with advanced standing (CEAS) in specific endorsement areas.
  • Establishing the computer science endorsement and requiring the endorsement for educators teaching computer science in grades nine through 12.
  • Eliminating the requirement to complete a commissioner-approved performance-based assessment to obtain a CEAS, a certificate of eligibility (CE), or a standard certificate, and requiring educator preparation programs to establish their own performance-based assessment.
  • Requiring all educator preparation programs for an instructional certificate to include six credits of classroom instruction, clinical experience (including student internships), or a combination of both, in special education.
  • Requiring all teaching certification candidates who have completed a commissioner-approved educator preparation program to complete a course or training on culturally responsive teaching, which recognizes the importance of including students’ cultural references in all aspects of learning and uses researched-based teaching strategies to meaningfully connect school lessons with students’ cultures, languages, and experiences.
  • Requiring educator preparation programs that train educators specifically for the teacher of students with disabilities endorsement to the instructional certificate to include coursework on autism spectrum disorder and comprehensive, evidence-based instructional practices to address the educational strengths and needs of students with autism.
  • Permitting educator preparation programs to accept any number of credit hours from accredited community colleges needed for certification.
• Updated Praxis II Cut-off Scores—The board adopted updated cut-off scores for the Praxis II tests in technology and engineering education, social studies, and family and consumer science.  The updated scores reflect changes to the content required to demonstrate mastery in the tested subject areas.