LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE
[First Reprint]
ASSEMBLY, No. 5292
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
DATED: JANUARY 10, 2022
SUMMARY
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Synopsis: |
Requires compilation of data and issuance of annual reports on New Jersey teacher workforce. |
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Type of Impact: |
Expenditure increase for the State and local school districts. |
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Agencies Affected: |
Department of Education; Local School Districts. |
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Office of Legislative Services Estimate |
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Fiscal Impact |
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State Cost Increase |
Indeterminate |
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Local Cost Increase |
Indeterminate |
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· The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that this bill will lead to indeterminate, likely marginal, increases in cost to the Department of Education (DOE) and to school districts. The magnitude of cost increases to the DOE to develop an infrastructure for the collection of information from school districts concerning teacher positions will depend on decisions made by the DOE in implementing this requirement.
· The bill requires the DOE to annually compile data submitted by school districts in a report that details the Statewide, county, and district trends in teacher retention. The DOE may incur additional costs to the extent that this report would require additional work hours, assuming that the development of the report is subsumed within the roles of existing staff.
· The bill also requires the Executive Leadership Council of the New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System (NJEEDS) to issue certain reports on teacher workforce projections for the State. The State may incur cost increases in the form of providing additional grant funding to the NJEEDS to develop these reports.
BILL DESCRIPTION
This bill establishes certain reporting requirements in regard to the current and projected teacher workforce in the State. The bill requires school districts to annually submit to the DOE, no later than October 15, information for the current school year on teaching positions, including the number of vacant teaching positions, the number of new teaching positions, the number of teaching positions that were eliminated, and the anticipated teacher retirements. The information submitted by school districts would be submitted in a manner to be prescribed by the commissioner.
The bill also requires school districts to annually submit to the department, no later than September 1, information on public school teacher retention that includes: the number of teachers who left employment with the district during the prior school year; the reason why those teachers left employment with the district, including dismissal, non-renewal of a contract, a reduction in force, employment in another school district or a nonpublic school, employment in another field, relocation to another state, or retirement; the characteristics of the teachers who left the district, including age, sex, race, and tenure status; and such other information the commissioner deems appropriate. The DOE will annually compile the data submitted by school districts in a report that details the Statewide, county, and district trends in teacher retention.
Within six months of the bill’s effective date, the Executive Leadership Council of the NJEEDS will issue a report on teacher workforce projections for the State for the following two years using data provided by the DOE. The DOE will provide any data necessary for the report within three months of the bill’s effective date. Following the issuance of this initial report, the Executive Leadership Council of the NJEEDS will issue, by March 1 of each year, a report on teacher workforce projections for the subsequent three to five years.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
None received.
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE SERVICES
The OLS finds that this bill will lead to indeterminate, likely marginal, increases in cost to the DOE and to school districts. The magnitude of cost increases to the DOE to develop an infrastructure for the collection of information from school districts concerning teacher positions will depend on decisions made by the DOE in implementing this requirement. Given the discretion provided to the commissioner under the bill, the OLS finds the costs increases to be indeterminate but notes that the use of existing staff and resources may reduce cost increases resulting from the bill.
The bill also requires the DOE to annually compile data submitted by school districts in a report that details the Statewide, county, and district trends in teacher retention. The DOE may incur additional costs to the extent that this report would require additional work hours, assuming that the development of the report is subsumed within the roles of existing staff.
The bill requires the Executive Leadership Council of the NJEEDS to issue certain reports on teacher workforce projections for the State. The State may incur cost increases in the form of providing additional grant funding to the NJEEDS to develop these reports. The OLS notes that the NJEEDS is the Statewide longitudinal data system administered by the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education in partnership with the DOE and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Motor Vehicle Commission, the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, and Rutgers University. The NJEEDS is based at the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. According to its “2020 Year in Review” publication, the NJEEDS has seven staff members. The OLS also notes that footnote language included in the fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriations act currently authorizes the appropriation of an amount not to exceed $500,000 to support the maintenance of the NJEEDS. The State may annually incur costs to provide grant funding to the Executive Leadership Council of the NJEEDS, which would be newly required to develop the workforce projection reports.
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Section: |
Education |
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Analyst: |
Associate Fiscal Analyst |
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Approved: |
Thomas Koenig Legislative Budget and Finance Officer |
This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.
This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67 (C.52:13B-6 et seq.).