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.
- Mikie Sherrill campaign backpeddles on forced merger plan, just lawyers and transportation for Toms River, Lakewood, JacksonTOMS RIVER, NJ – Mikie Sherrill, the far-left progressive Democrat candidate running for governor of New Jersey, is now backpedaling after claiming she wants to force smaller and financially delinquent school districts to merge if she wins in November. “She is focused on reducing New Jerseyans’ property tax burden by working with school districts to
- Mikie Sherrill’s forced school consolidation plan risks cutting out the parents, giving NJEA too much powerTrenton, NJ – Few would dispute that New Jersey’s tangled web of more than 600 school districts is inefficient, costly, and unsustainable. Consolidation, in some form, is long overdue. But Mikie Sherrill’s proposal to force countywide districts risks turning a necessary reform into a political power grab that could harm the very communities already reeling
- State Monitor Blocks Lakewood School Board from Rehiring $7 Million AttorneyState monitor blocks school board from rehiring high-priced lawyer again Lakewood, NJ – For the third time in six months, State Monitor Louise Davis has moved to block the rehiring of attorney Michael Inzelbuch, citing his proposed $350 hourly rate as excessive. The dispute has dragged on for nearly three months, leaving the Lakewood Board