Sponsored by:
Assemblyman TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblyman ARTHUR BARCLAY
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman PATRICIA EGAN JONES
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman RALPH R. CAPUTO
District 28 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Directs State Board of Education to authorize computer science education endorsement to instructional certificate.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning computer science education and supplementing chapter 26 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The State Board of Education shall authorize a computer science education endorsement to the instructional certificate. The endorsement shall authorize the holder to teach computer science in all public schools, and shall be required to teach computer science in grades 9 through 12 beginning at such time as the State board determines that there is a sufficient number of teachers holding the computer science education endorsement to make the requirement feasible.
b. The standards established by the State board shall require a candidate for the endorsement to hold a standard instructional certificate with at least one other teaching endorsement and provide documentation that the candidate has completed, at a minimum, the following coursework:
(1) a class that is equivalent to Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles that focuses on computers in society including, but not limited to, data, ethics, security, the internet, and algorithms;
(2) a class that is equivalent to Advanced Placement Computer Science A, an introductory programming class for computer science majors;
(3) a data structures class that is equivalent to a second semester programming class for computer science majors; and
(4) computer science methods, a class that focuses on computer science pedagogy, and current research and best practices in computer science education.
c. A teacher who taught computer science within the three years prior to the effective date of this act, shall be issued a computer science education endorsement to the instructional certificate upon application to the State Board of Examiners.
2. The State Board of Education shall adopt pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the State Board of Education to authorize a computer science education endorsement to the instructional certificate. The endorsement would authorize the holder to teach computer science in all public schools, and would be required to teach computer science in grades 9 through 12 beginning at such time as the State board determines that there is a sufficient number of teachers holding the computer science education endorsement to make the requirement feasible.
The standards established by the State board would require a candidate for the computer science education endorsement to: (1) hold a standard instructional certificate with at least one other teaching endorsement; and (2) provide documentation of the completion of coursework that includes, at a minimum, a class that is equivalent to Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles, a class that is equivalent to Advanced Placement Computer Science A, a data structures class, and a computer science methods class.
The bill provides that a teacher who is teaching computer science within three years of the bill’s effective date will be issued a computer science education endorsement upon application to the State Board of Examiners.