NJDOE: REQUEST FOR PUBLIC INPUT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ESSA

[Concetta E. Donvito]

ADVISORY: NJ Department of Education Seeks Public Input on Implementation of ESSA, the Every Student Succeeds Act For Immediate Release Contact: Michael Yaple David Saenz Date: September 2, 2016 609-292-1126  Trenton, NJ - The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) is seeking input from all members of our school communities about how New Jersey will implement provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  As one of many ways it will engage with the public over the next few months, the NJDOE will host four regional listening sessions in September. ESSA is the latest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which is the 1965 federal law designed to ensure equal educational opportunities and access for all students.  The law is periodically reauthorized, or amended-in 2002 with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), and again in December of 2015 with the passage of ESSA.  The federal law applies to states and school districts, and includes requirements about how the NJDOE must report information about its schools, assess school performance, and determine which schools need additional support to meet students' needs.  The law also establishes how federal funding authorized in the law (over $20 billion annually) is distributed to states and school districts. At the four public sessions, the NJDOE will provide an overview of provisions of the new law, the timeline for developing the state ESSA plan and then allow an opportunity for public comment.  The public sessions will be held at the following times and locations: Session 1:  Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, from 4-6 p.m. at College of St. Elizabeth, Dolan Performance Hall in the Annunciation Center, 2 Convent Road, Morristown, NJ.  Register online.  Session 2: Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016, from 5-8 p.m. at Rowan College at Gloucester County, Lecture Room 430 of the Instructional Center Building, 1400 Tanyard Road, Sewell, NJ 08080.  Register online. Session 3: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, from 5-7 p.m. in the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools auditorium, 112 Rues Lane, East Brunswick, NJ 08816. Register online . Session 4:  Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, from 7-9 p.m., in the Teaneck High School auditorium, 100 Elizabeth Avenue, Teaneck, NJ 07666. Register online. Additional information and the opportunity to participate in an online survey is provided on the NJDOE's  ESSA webpage. Individuals can contact the NJDOE with questions and comments through an online contact form  or by emailing [e-mail].

Statewide Parent Advocacy Network 35 Halsey Street, Newark, NJ 07102 www.spanadvocacy.org