OC/OS Letter to Senate President Scutari and Senator Stack on SBOE Nominations

Access a downloadable version of the OC/OS letter here.

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February 13, 2023

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Dear Senate President Scutari and Senator Stack:

Education advocates and organizations from across the state are disappointed in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s lack of urgency in confirming Governor Phil Murphy’s nominations for the State Board of Education. Currently, there are eleven expired seats on the State Board. One seat is now vacant as of January 1, 2023. By June 2023, all remaining State Board seats will be expired

 

The children of New Jersey deserve better. The State Board of Education handles a host of issues that directly impact 1.4 million schoolchildren and their families and thousands of educators across the state. All regulatory decisions come before the State Board of Education, including but not limited to statewide assessments, special education, educator preparation, bilingual education, and policies enforcing equity across schools. How can the state hold schools and school districts accountable to provide a thorough and efficient education to all students when its State Board is out of compliance?

Governor Murphy has nominated three strong, pro public education candidates with decades of service to the children of our state. The nominations were announced five months ago. This past week, Mary Bennett, one of the three nominees, was on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s agenda for discussion, and then removed.

 

The members of Our Children/Our Schools, representing over 50 education organizations in New Jersey, are urging you to work with the Murphy Administration to confirm the three current State Board nominees and any subsequent nominees until all expired or open seats are filled.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter,

Our Children/Our Schools
https://www.ourchildrenourschools.org/
info@ourchildrenourschools.org

cc: Governor Phil Murphy
George Helmy
Dennis Zeveloff
Laura Console