At its Aug. 7 meeting, the New Jersey State Board of Education heard updates and took actions on the following items:
- Certification of School Districts—The State Board certified that 50 districts scored 80% or better in their NJQSAC evaluation scores. Twenty-four districts scored below 80 percent in one or more NJQSAC areas and will develop or continue to implement the NJQSAC district improvement plan (DIP) to address deficient indicators. Following DIP implementation, the executive county superintendent will conduct another interim progress review.
- N.J. Equity Conference—NJDOE staffers spoke about the results of their recent Equity Conference. There were over 900 registered attendees and more than 50 sessions were offered with over 150 educators and students as presenters.
The NJSBA also submitted testimony concerning the State Board’s proposal to provide flexibility for individuals seeking to obtain a career and technical education (CTE) endorsement to an instructional certificate and to increase the pool of CTE teacher candidates.
The NJSBA supported the proposal because it believes that continuous efforts to improve and increase the supply of qualified candidates for school employment are beneficial as long as those efforts do not compromise the quality of the applicant pool. The NJSBA also cited the final report of its Task Force on Educational Opportunities for the Non-College-Bound Learner which recommended action be taken to address the shortage of CTE instructors.