TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Senate Education Committee has favorably reported Senate Bill No. 1287, a significant legislative proposal aimed at modifying the state’s teacher certification process. This bill proposes the removal of the basic skills test requirement for teacher certification, which includes tests in reading, writing, and mathematics.
Introduced by Senators James Beach and Shirley K. Turner, the bill is set to streamline the certification process for teachers. It targets the elimination of the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators test among others, thereby simplifying the pathway to obtaining various types of teaching certificates such as the certificate of eligibility, certificate of eligibility with advanced standing, provisional certificate, and standard instructional certificate.
The bill was pre-filed for the 2024-2025 session and has undergone a technical review to incorporate necessary changes. The Senate committee’s report indicates that the bill, as amended, matches its counterpart, Assembly Bill No. 1669, which was also reported favorably on the same date.
Under the proposed changes, the State Board of Education will no longer mandate a Commissioner of Education-approved test for obtaining these teaching certificates. This legislative move is seen as a step to remove obstacles to teacher certification, especially for those who meet all other educational and programmatic requirements.
The bill’s proponents, including co-sponsors Senators Diegnan and Burgess, believe that these changes will help attract more qualified individuals into the teaching profession by making the certification process less cumbersome and more accessible.
- Governor Murphy rejects federal request to end DEI in New Jersey public schoolsTRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is fully engaged in a legal game of chicken with the White House and the Department of Justice. On Thursday, the Murphy administration raised the ante in light of a federal criminal investigation into the governor’s immigration sanctuary state, calling the Trump adminstration out on its effort
- Jackson school board slams brakes on 28% tax hike, defies state mandate in fiery showdownJACKSON, N.J. — The Jackson Board of Education last Thursday unanimously rejected a proposal from the New Jersey Commissioner of Education that would have allowed a 28% school tax increase—blasting the plan as an overreach and reaffirming its opposition to what it described as a crushing financial demand on residents. The vote came after nearly
- State aid cuts forcing another New Jersey district to sell a school and cut programsLACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ — Hundreds of concerned parents and students packed Lacey Township High School on Wednesday night as the Board of Education met to address the district’s escalating financial crisis, driven by steep cuts in state aid under New Jersey’s S2 funding formula. The overflow crowd, spilling into the school’s theater to watch a