One at One: New Jersey Statewide Assessments

Today’s Issue by Colleen Degnan:

Whether twelfth graders are still required to demonstrate proficiency on Statewide assessments in order to graduate, despite the disruption to education caused by COVID-19?

Answer:

No. Governor Murphy, via Executive Order No. 214 (2021), waived the State’s graduation proficiency test requirement for all twelfth graders who have not yet met the requirement, provided they met other graduation requirements, including credits, curriculum content, and attendance.

Additionally, the New Jersey Department of Education (“NJDOE”) plans to submit a request to the United States Department of Education to waive the Every Student Succeeds Act (“ESSA”) requirement to administer statewide assessments to students in all grades for the 2020-2021 school year.  NJDOE is accepting comments about its waiver request via email () through March 5, 2021 at 5 pm.

Resources:

N.J.S.A. 18A:7C-6

N.J.A.C. 6A:8-5.1

Executive Order No. 214 (Jan. 13, 2021)

NJDOE, ESSA in New Jersey (2021)

NJDOE Broadcast re: Statewide Assessments Waiver Request (Feb. 19, 2021)

To Learn More about FPSCTT’s Education and School Law Practice, please contact:

Lester Taylor, Partner and Chair

Christine Soto, Partner and Co-Chair

Afshan Ajmiri Giner, Partner and Co-Chair

Caitlin Pletcher, Partner

This post is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.