SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2830

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 14, 2021

      The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No. 2830.

     This bill requires each educator preparation program to annually report to the Department of Education on the first-time and overall test pass rates of candidates for an instructional certificate, for each test required for instructional certification.  Under the bill, each educator preparation program must:

· annually publish the first-time and overall test pass rates of its students on its website;

· annually disseminate information to its students on the availability of fee waivers for tests required for instructional certification; and

· include in its student fees a separate fee to be applied towards the cost of the student completing the tests required for instructional certification. 

     The bill provides that testing fees for students preparing for employment as an educator in a subject area in which there is a shortage of teachers in the State, as determined by the department, must be paid by the educator preparation program. 

     The bill also requires the department to annually compile the test pass rates of candidates for an instructional certificate submitted pursuant to the bill’s provisions into a comparative profile of all educator preparation programs.  The profile must be made available for public inspection on the department’s website.

     Finally, the bill provides that the test pass rates submitted to the department pursuant to the bill’s provisions be included within the documentation required for the Commissioner of Education’s periodic review of educator preparation programs.