GARDEN STATE COALITION OF SCHOOLS

CRITICAL ISSUES SHEET

2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

• Funding: Advocate for increased state funding for special education and Extraordinary Aid for Special Education.
  •  Support the establishment of the School Funding Task Force to analyze ways in which SFRA and S2 have worked and areas where revision/reform might be necessary.
  •  Continue to advocate for districts losing funds under S2. 
  • Support flexibility with regard to the current 2% property tax levy cap.
• Staffing: Support continued legislative and other efforts to implement measures that eliminate or reduce financial and academic barriers to entry into education professions.
• Mental health: Continue to advocate for practical, workable solutions to student mental health issues.  Work with legislators, the Governor’s Office and DOE to prevent overlaps in services, unfunded mandates and “sound bite” solutions.
  • Advocate for increased school security funding to allow resources for mental health services/programs
• Assessments: Continue to work for meaningful state assessments that yield actionable results in a realistic time frame. 
  • Support the elimination of the NJGPA graduation test.
• Post-COVID Learning Delays/Learning Acceleration: Monitor the various state tutoring initiatives, advocating for steady student progress rather than instant results.
• Charter Schools: Work towards charter school funding mechanisms that do not penalize local districts, which must sometimes absorb annual increases well in excess of the two percent tax levy cap.