NJ Senate Bill S3214, introduced by Senators Ruiz and Turner, requires the NJ Commissioner of Education to collect data on student academic outcomes from all school districts to asses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning and achievement. The commissioner will require each school district to submit the required data within 30 days of the bill’s effective date. Data must be provided for all students enrolled in the school district in the time period beginning on the date of the school district’s closure in March of 2020 through the bill’s effective date.
The commissioner will be required to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and to the Legislature identifying and quantifying the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency on overall student academic outcomes, and include an analysis disaggregated by district size, grade level, and academic subject, where practicable; and comparing the data to the same metrics prior to the onset of the pandemic.
The bill also directs the commissioner to require each school district to submit a broad range of data regarding the district’s provision of educational services during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
The commissioner’s final report will be a comprehensive overview of the continuation of school services during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
S3214 has been approved in the NJ Senate, and is ready for Second Reading in the Assembly.
