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OC/OS Education Priorities
Policy Brief

A Girl in a Classroom

Access a downloadable version of the full OC/OS policy here.

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September 2024

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Executive Summary

 

In this brief, Our Children/Our Schools (OC/OS), a statewide network of New Jersey education, children’s rights and civil rights organizations that share a commitment to supporting public school students and schools, outlines important education policy priorities and presents recommendations to inform state policymakers.

 

   I. Reform School Funding

 

While the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) is fully funded in the FY25 State Budget, there is still work to be done to ensure that the formula is working effectively and that all public schools have the resources they need to provide a constitutionally mandated “thorough and efficient” education for their students. We recommend the following:

 

  1. Because the SFRA is now 16 years old, the Legislature should undertake an in-depth study of the SFRA and the Local Fair Share (LFS) calculation in the formula to ensure the formula is providing adequate resources. This should include a robust community engagement process and consultation with school finance experts.

  2. Reasonable caps on state aid reductions should be implemented in future years to avoid the annual disruptions and uncertainty in school district budgets due to budget cuts.

  3. The 2% property tax cap should be lifted for districts with school levies below their LFS.

 

   II. Reform Special Education Funding

 

Census-based special education funding has caused severe inequities, and over 60% of districts received funding for fewer special education students than they actually enrolled in 2022-23. We recommend the following:

 

  1. Legislators should convene finance experts and meet with stakeholders to craft a system that better meets the actual special education funding needs of school districts. The SFRA should be amended to reflect this input.

 

   III. Reject Private School Vouchers

 

Legislation to establish the state’s first private school voucher program through a tax credit mechanism was introduced in early 2024, but subsequently withdrawn. While the proposed program was capped at $37.5 million, examples from other states show that small voucher programs can quickly expand and have debilitating impacts on state budgets. We recommend the following:

 

  1. Legislative leaders must reject any future education privatization efforts to ensure taxpayer dollars flow to public schools and do not subsidize tuition at private or religious schools.

 

   IV. Fund the School Construction Program

 

The state has a constitutional obligation to fund capital and emergent projects in the thirty-one former Abbott districts, now referred to as SDA districts. The FY25 State Budget included only $50 million for school construction, and over $7 billion is needed to alleviate overcrowding and replace aging buildings in the SDA districts. We recommend the following:

 

  1. Dedicated funding must be established for the school construction program, either through direct appropriation, the Debt Defeasance and Prevention Fund, or bond authorization.

  2. $30 million must be provided to fund the Buildings Conditions and Assessment Survey, first recommended by the SDA in 2019. The survey will provide uniform, comprehensive information about the number and types of capital maintenance and emergent project needs in the SDA districts.

 

   V. Fund Community Schools

 

The community schools model allows schools to work collaboratively with students, parents, and teachers to identify the needs of the school community and develop a unique plan for that school and neighborhood. Community schools are proven to be an effective strategy for addressing students’ needs. We recommend the following:

 

  1. The Legislature should support A4107/S2243, a five-year pilot initiative that would expand community schools to an additional school in each of the state’s twenty-one counties.

  2. The Governor and Legislature should establish a line-item appropriation for community schools in all future state budgets to allow all public schools to become community schools.

 

   VI. Fund Healing Centered Engagement (HCE)

 

The collective uncertainties and resulting traumas of the COVID-19 pandemic have severely impacted students, families, and school personnel, and educators are increasingly called on to meet the social–emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs of students. Healing Centered Engagement (HCE) is a model for improving the well-being of students and the adults who serve them in schools. We recommend the following:

 

  1. The state should explore expanding the HCE model to every school so that all schools can address students’ needs in holistic ways, considering their relationships, self-regulation, academic competence, and physical and emotional well-being. All future state budgets should include an appropriation for HCE.

 

   VII. Integrate New Jersey's Segregated Public Schools

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New Jersey’s public school system is among the most segregated in the country, largely due to residential segregation and the state’s requirement that most students attend schools within the districts where they reside. We recommend the following:

 

  1. The state should engage in public conversations with diverse stakeholder groups about the benefits of school integration for all students and ways to ameliorate segregation in New Jersey’s school system.

  2. The state should engage in research and data collection related to desegregation, spearhead planning and implementation of desegregation policies, and provide support and technical assistance to districts and localities in desegregation efforts.

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   VIII. Address Staff Shortages at the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE)

 

The NJDOE has the crucial role of supporting New Jersey schools, districts, and educators, and ensuring that all students have access to equitable learning opportunities and the resources they need to be successful. The NJDOE has experienced substantial staff loss. We recommend the following:

 

  1. The NJDOE must prioritize hiring additional staff members and work to reduce turnover rates. New Jersey schools, districts, and students depend on and deserve a well-functioning Department of Education.

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   IX. Implement Culturally Responsive Curricula and Diversifying the Teacher Workforce

 

New Jersey’s public school system, while racially and economically segregated, is growing in diversity. It is imperative that school curricula and the state’s educator workforce reflect the diverse ethnicities and cultures of the state’s student population. We recommend the following:

 

    1. In all future state budgets, the Administration and the Legislature should fund every NJDOE Commission (Amistad, Asian American Heritage, Holocaust, Italian and Italian American Heritage, and Latino and Hispanic Heritage) that supports efforts to ensure culturally responsive curricula.

    2. The NJDOE should prioritize efforts to increase the recruitment and retention of students of color into teacher preparatory programs and ensure funding is provided for these efforts.

 

   X. Fill Expired Seats on the State Board of Education (SBOE)

 

The SBOE plays a vital role in education policy decisions that impact New Jersey schoolchildren, their families, and educators across the state. Nine of thirteen members currently sit in expired seats, and one additional seat is vacant. We recommend the following:

 

  1. The Governor must nominate additional State Board members so that no expired seats remain. The Senate Judiciary Committee must then expeditiously work to confirm the nominees until all expired seats are filled.

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