A4006 —

A4006 SEDAV StatementASSEMBLY 8/20/20BILL SENATENO. EDUCATION COMMITTEE   STATEMENT TO   ASSEMBLY, No.

4006   STATE  OFTo NEWthe JERSEYGeneral  Assembly: DATED:

 AUGUST     20,Pursuant 2020to  Article     V, TheSection SenateI, EducationParagraph Committee14 favorablyof reportsthe New Jersey Constitution, I herewith return Assembly Bill No.

4006.4006 without my approval.

     This bill postponeswould postpone the comprehensive New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (“NJQSAC”) review offor certain school districtsdistricts.  underThe thebill Newprovides Jerseythat Qualitythe SingleNJQSAC Accountabilityreview Continuumwill (NJQSAC)take untilplace in the 2021-2022 school year.year for any school district that:

    1) Underwas current law, each school district is required to undergo aNJQSAC comprehensive review underin the State2019-2020 monitoring system, the NJQSAC.  Each school districtyear isbut currentlywas requiredunable to undergocomplete thesuch comprehensive review oncedue every three years according to aCoronavirus scheduledisease established2019 by(“COVID-19”) therelated Commissioner of Education.  As a result, only a certain number of school districtsclosures; undergo monitoring during any given year.

    or Under2) theis bill,scheduled the comprehensive review of certain districts would be postponed to allow school districts and the Department of Education to focus additional resources on addressing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Specifically, the bill requires the comprehensive review to be conducted during the 2021-2022 school year for any school district that was required to undergo itsNJQSAC review duringin (1) the 2019-20202020-2021 school year,year. which review was not completed due to the COVID-19-related school closures;

or Further, (2) the 2020-2021bill schooldictates year. that     these Ifdistricts awill school district undergoes a comprehensive review during the 2021-2022 school as a result of the postponement, the district would be required to undergo itstheir next comprehensive NJQSAC review as if the postponement had not occurredoccurred.  (i.e.,According threeto years after the schoolstatement yearaccompanying inthe whichbill, the reviewpostponements wasare originallyintended scheduled to takeallow place).  The bill allows school districts to makefocus atheir requesttime toand theresources commissioneron forresponding anto exemption from the postponement.COVID-19 pandemic.

The     billI alsocommend stipulates that the postponementsbill’s requiredsponsors underfor acknowledging the billchallenges maythat notthe disruptCOVID-19 thepandemic schedulehas forpresented anyto otherour school district’sdistricts comprehensiveand review.their standard operations.

      However, Asin reportedseeking byto thedeliver committee,a degree of immediate relief to certain school districts, this bill isimposes identicala tosubstantial Senateburden Billon No.the New Jersey Department of Education (“DOE”).

2404,     whichOver alsothe wascourse reportedof bya traditional school year, the committeeDOE oncompletes thisan sameaverage date.of 190 NJQSAC reviews, each of which can require up to five days to complete.

 Under this bill, during the 2021-2022 school year, the DOE will be responsible for completing NJQSAC reviews for three different categories of school districts:

1) those regularly scheduled for 2021-2022 review;

2) those scheduled for 2020-2021 review;

and 3) those scheduled for 2019‑2020 review that were unable to complete the review due to COVID-19-related school closures.

 This translates into approximately 400 reviews over the course of one school year, which is approximately two times the number of reviews conducted by the DOE in a standard year.

     Furthermore, although the bill will alleviate the workload that the NJQSAC review imposes on school districts in the short term, it will ultimately subject certain school districts to increased demands.

Because the bill requires the affected districts to undergo their next comprehensive NJQSAC review as if the postponement had not occurred, districts initially scheduled for 2020-2021 review will be subjected to two NJQSAC reviews in three years.

 The NJQSAC review process is comprehensive, complex, and time-consuming, and is designed to evaluate a district’s compliance with State law and programs over a three-year period.   Requiring certain districts to undergo two reviews in three years is redundant and unnecessary, particularly at a time when districts are focusing resources on COVID-19 response measures.

     Fortunately, the DOE has already taken proactive measures to address the needs of school districts with respect to NJQSAC reviews affected by COVID-19 in a manner that will neither overwhelm the DOE nor subject dozens of districts to unnecessary reviews.

 In May 2020, the DOE implemented an emergency rule modification pursuant to Executive Order No.

(2020), which allowed reviews to be completed without the need for in-person interaction.

 For the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency, all county offices of education are prepared to conduct NJQSAC reviews as scheduled, guided by the emergency rule modification.

 I have been informed by the DOE that many school districts scheduled for NJQSAC review during the 2019-2020 school year successfully utilized the modified review process to complete their NJQSAC reviews.  I have been further advised by the DOE that those school districts scheduled for reviews during the 2020-2021 school year have been informed of the modifications to the review process and are readily able to undergo such review.       Accordingly, I herewith return Assembly Bill No.

4006 without my approval.

                             Respectfully,        [seal]                  /s/ Philip D.

Murphy                                Governor     Attest:

  /s/ Parimal Garg   Chief Counsel to the Governor