Third-party Online learning spared for now

Bill to eliminate annual teacher evaluations fails

By: Mary Ann Koruth
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... New Jersey's education advocates heaved a sigh of relief when lawmakers on Monday [01/08/2024] walked back measures that advocates aid would have affected K-12 teachers quality and access to Online lessons in schools.
..... Among the last votes in the lame-duck legislative session, lawmakers passed a resolution that urges the Department of Education to examine the rising trend of remote instruction in school classrooms - rather than blocking districts from contracting for Online courses.
..... And a bill that would have eliminated annual teacher evaluations was modified but failed to pass.
..... Key K-12 leadership groups, including the superintendents association, the school boards association and the principal and supervisors association, protested the Assembly Education Committee's approval of broader versions of those policies in December [2023] - a move they said was rushed and incomplete.
..... Bill A5874 would have prevented schools superintendents from hiring third parties to provide Online instruction - currently an available last resort for many schools during the ongoing teacher shortage.
..... A second bill, A5877, would have needed annual K-12 teacher evaluations for non-tenured staff and introduced a staggered but complicated schedule for future evaluations.
..... Lawmakers reduced the scope of both bills. Teachers evaluations are staying unchanged.
..... A substitute bill for A5877 to cerate a task force to reexamine TEACHNJ, a teacher evaluation law passed 10 years ago, failed to reach a vote.
..... A5874, meanwhile, was not on hold and a resolution passed in its place requesting - but not ordering - the state Education Department to collect data on virtual instruction in schools for the purpose of future regulation and policy-making.
..... Advocates expressed concern about rushing through bills that change education policy before new lawmakers take office.

'Monumental' staffing crisis

..... A group including education watchdogs, advocacy groups and the state superintendents, principals and school board association all sent a letter to Governor Phil Murphy and senate warning against adoption of A5874 during what they described as a "monumental" staffing crisis.
.... The original bill would have stopped schools from contracting with special education staff, nurses and counselors. It also would have barred schools from using Online classes and foreign languages.
..... "We write to you to share our deep concerns" about the bill, the letter said.
..... "The measure will exacerbate an already monumental educational staffing crisis and have a severe negative impact on students throughout the Garden State."
..... The New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, was the original bill's sole supporter, saying it prioritized in-person instruction and certified staff.
..... But the union's opponents disagreed, saying that while in-person teaching is "preferred" for classroom learning, Online instruction should remain viable for school leaders to implement.
"With advancements in new technology, students have new opportunities and virtual instruction has proven to be an invaluable tool in educators' toolkits," the letter from advocates opposing the original bill said.
.... "By eliminating valuable options, we risk disenfranchising students and limiting their access to educational opportunities that would otherwise not be available to them," the letter said. "Similarly, removing flexibility in personnel decisions could result in a complete eliminations of a particular class or service at a school."
..... Analyzing the "extent of virtual instruction: in schools was a welcome move, the NJEA said, responding to the resolution passed Monday. [01/08/2024]
..... The union was grateful that the "Legislature recognized the growing problem of the sue of virtual instruction absent any guideline or guardrails," said spokesperson Steven Baker.

Task force instead of alerting teacher evaluations

..... The substituted A5877 bill, which the Senate never approved, would cerate a 12-member panel called the New Jersey Educator Evaluation Review Task Force to study the educator's evaluation system established by the TEACHNJ Act for use in public schools.
..... The task force was to have filed a report by July 31 [2023] recommending changes in how teachers, principals and assistant and vice principals are evaluated.
..... "We concur with other stakeholders that it is to evaluate the 10-year-old evaluation system. The task force puts us on a timeline to do that," said the NJEA's Baker.
..... But even with all its changes, the revised teacher evaluation bill will not end up on the governor's desk. It will have to start from scratch in the next legislative session, because the Senate never got to approving it.
..... The changes were a win for the groups that opposed the original versions.
..... With the bills rushing to the governor's desk, advocates and policymakers will now have the "time and deliberation needed to make sure we get these policies right and address all outstanding concerns," said Jonathan Pushman of the New Jersey Schools Boards Association.

HOME