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NJ Spotlight--Opponents of Christie’s PARCC Graduation Requirements Go to Court
Advocates say requirements violate state law, argue NJ has high graduation rates because students have multiple paths to diplomas
New Jersey is once again turning to the courts to decide education policy, as advocacy groups yesterday announced a new legal challenge to the Christie administration’s latest requirements for high school graduation.
A coalition of groups said it filed a challenge in state appellate court to the administration’s latest requirements that students pass prescribed sections of the new PARCC exams to receive a diploma, starting with the class of 2021.
The challenge comes as the state Supreme Court is poised to hear a separate challenge from Gov. Chris Christie against the landmark Abbott v. Burke school equity rulings, throwing in arguments against the state’s teacher seniority laws as well.
In that case, the court is grappling whether to hear the arguments, and asked the relevant parties earlier this month to submit arguments about whether the case was appropriate to review.
John Mooney | October 25, 2016
Star Ledger--Prieto to pitch plan to fix 'unacceptable' N.J. school funding
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney have spent the past few months pitching dueling plans to revise New Jersey's school funding system. Now, Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto is joining the fray.
Prieto (D-Hudson) and Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Marlene Caride (D-Bergen) on Thursday will introduce their own proposal for addressing what Prieto called an "unacceptable" status quo.
Like Sweeney, Prieto is calling for a panel of experts to study the issue and make recommendations. But in contrast to Sweeney's proposal, Prieto's plan would allow state lawmakers to make tweaks to the group's recommendations before voting.
"The Senate's commission would abrogate the legislative process and silence the voice of the people," Prieto said. "It would also cut off valuable input and debate, which as anyone who knows my background can tell you, is completely unacceptable to me."
http://www.nj.com/education/2016/10/nj_school_funding_christie_sweeney_prieto.html
Adam Clark | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com| October 24, 2016 at 5:29 PM, updated October 24, 2016 at 5:45 PM
Jersey Journal--One of N.J.'s largest high schools is on the move in 2019
NORTH BERGEN – One of the largest high schools in the state is on the move.
School board officials announced today that North Bergen High School will be moving into the current High Tech High School building, which will be vacated once the school's new campus is Secaucus is complete.
Officials say the move will increase classroom space and alleviate much of the over-capacity issues North Bergen's school system faces from top to bottom.
North Bergen Mayor and state Sen. Nicholas Sacco joined members of the town's school board as well as the Hudson County Schools of Technology -- the district that operates High Tech High School -- for a press conference at the vocational high school today to announce the plans. The new deal should allow North Bergen High School to open at its new location for the 2019-2020 school year.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for North Bergen students and taxpayers to finally bring a new high school to our community and to do it in a fiscally responsible way," Sacco said in a press release.
Officials are still negotiating the details of the plan, but have agreed on key elements including the move of North Bergen students into the current vocational high school and an agreement to let the HCST adult school to continue operating inside the Tonnelle Avenue facility.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/10/north_bergen_high_school_announces_move_into_hcst.html
Corey McDonald | The Jersey Journal| October 24, 2016 at 4:16 PM, updated October 24, 2016 at 5:10 PM
Education Week--Here's Why ESSA Might Direct More Federal Dollars to Private Schools
The Every Student Succeeds Act makes plenty of changes to education policy, including several key ones that provide more control to states. But here's one that's been largely overlooked in discussions about ESSA: the possibility that the law will ultimately enable private schools to obtain more federal aid to K-12 than they have previously.
Here's what we mean: As with the No Child Left Behind Act, ESSA requires that districts provide "equitable services" to certain students in private schools, after consulting with private school officials. This can impact migrant students in private schools, students who are English-language learners, and others. (The delivery of equitable services has been complicated by the growth of school choice programs, according to a recent report from the federal Government Accountability Office.)
A summary of ESSA spending and fiscal rules provided by the Council of Chief State School Officers states that under equitable services requirements, "Expenditures for eligible private school children must be equal, taking into account their number and educational needs, to the expenditures for participating public school children."
By Andrew Ujifusa on October 24, 2016 7:48 AM
