S3039

An Act establishing a Task Force on Educational Technology.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The Legislature finds and declares that:

a. Today’s New Jersey students are digital natives who live in a global, connected world and need to be educated within this context in order to be college and career ready;

b. All students in this State deserve to have access to educational technologies to enhance learning and provide them with the technological skills and savvy they will need to be productive and globally competitive citizens;

c. Teachers need ongoing professional development to ensure that they are able to confidently and effectively integrate technology as an instructional tool in their classrooms;

d. Infrastructure should be engineered to support the internet demands of all of the State’s public schools in order to support current and innovative technology uses; and

e. The availability of assistive technology is of particular importance to the successful education of students with special needs and is influenced by the funds available to the public schools’ special education programs.

2. a. There is established a Task Force on Educational Technology. The purpose of the task force is to study issues and make recommendations related to the use of educational technology in the classrooms of the public schools in this State.

b. The task force shall consist of the following 14 members:

(1) the Commissioner of Education, or a designee, who shall serve ex officio;

(2) the Director of the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, or a designee;

(3) the Director of the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs, or a designee;

(4) the Chief Technology Officer of the New Jersey Office of Information Technology, or a designee;

(5) the Chair of the Senate Education Committee;

(6) the Chair of the Assembly Education Committee; and

(7) eight members appointed by the Governor, who shall include: two members upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Education Association, both of whom are educators with a strong background in using technology in the classroom; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Charter Schools Association who is an educator with a strong background in using technology in the classroom; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Association for Educational Technology; and two members of the public with expertise in the use of educational technology.

c. Appointments to the task force shall be made within 30 days of the effective date of this act. Vacancies in the membership of the task force shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments were made. Members of the task force shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenditures incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the task force within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the task force for its purposes.

3. The task force shall organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its members, but no later than 60 days after the effective date of this act. The task force shall choose a chairperson from among its members and shall appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the task force.

4. The Department of Education shall provide such stenographic, clerical, and other administrative assistants, and such professional staff as the task force requires to carry out its work. The task force also shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of the employees of any State, county, or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available for its purposes.

5. It shall be the duty of the task force to review and evaluate the current condition of educational technology in the public schools, to identify areas for improvement, and to make recommendations that support New Jersey becoming a leader for utilizing technology in grades pre-K through 12 education. The task force shall:

a. determine the current use of educational technology in the public school classrooms of the State;

b. recommend strategies and goals for improving and equalizing access to, and use of, educational technology and assistive technology in all public schools across the State;

c. determine the current use of educational technology and assistive technology for students with special needs, and identify ways to increase the access of these students to assistive technology in the classroom;

d. determine the current readiness of teaching staff to use educational technology in the State’s public schools, and evaluate the need for improved ongoing professional development in the integration of technology and assistive technology in classrooms;

e. coordinate strategies for grades pre-K through 12 educational technology with national standards; and

f. review the Educational Technology Plan for New Jersey, make any recommendations to update the plan, and recommend a plan to track and assess progress in the implementation of the goals set forth in the Educational Technology Plan.

6. The task force shall issue a final report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), no later than one year after the task force organizes. The report shall contain the task force’s findings and recommendations concerning the use of educational technology in the State’s public school classrooms.

7. This act shall take effect immediately, and the task force shall expire 30 days after the issuance of its final report.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes a 14-member task force to study issues and make recommendations related to the use of educational technology in the State’s public school classrooms. The task force will be comprised of: the Commissioner of Education; the Director of the Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology; the Director of the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs; the Chief Technology Officer of the New Jersey Office of Information Technology; the Chair of the Senate Education Committee; the Chair of the Assembly Education Committee; and eight members appointed by the Governor. The Governor’s appointees will include two members upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Education Association who are educators with a strong background in using technology in the classroom; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Charter Schools Association who is an educator with a strong background in using technology in the classroom; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators; one member upon the recommendation of the New Jersey Association for Educational Technology; and two members of the public with expertise in the use of educational technology.

The task force will review and evaluate the current condition of educational technology in the State’s public schools, identify areas for improvement, and make recommendations that support New Jersey becoming a leader for utilizing technology in grades pre-K through 12. Under the bill, the task force will:

- determine the current use of educational technology in public school classrooms;

- recommend strategies and goals for improving and equalizing access to, and use of, educational technology and assistive technology in all public schools across the State;

- determine the current use of educational technology and assistive technology for students with special needs, and identify ways to increase the access of these students to assistive technology in the classroom;

- determine the current readiness of teaching staff to use educational technology in the State’s public schools, and evaluate the need for improved ongoing professional development in the integration of technology and assistive technology in classrooms;

- coordinate strategies for grades pre-K through 12 educational technology with national standards; and

- review the Educational Technology Plan for New Jersey, make any recommendations to update the plan, and recommend a plan to track and assess progress in the implementation of the goals set forth in the plan.

The task force is required to issue a final report to the Governor and the Legislature within one year of its organization, which contains the task force’s findings and recommendations concerning the use of educational technology in the classroom.