[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 80 (Thursday, June 22, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1079]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NEW JERSEY SENATE OBJECTS TO SCHOOL-TO-WORK

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                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 21, 2000

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to a 
resolution recently passed by the New Jersey Senate. Approved on May 
10, 1999, Senate Resolution No. 73 express the objection of the State 
Senate to the School-to-Work provisions being developed by the New 
Jersey Department of Education.
  State Senators Joseph Kyrillos, William Gormley, Scott Garrett, and 
Guy Talarico achieved a significant victory for quality local education 
by putting the New Jersey Senate on record opposing the federal School-
to-Work curriculum and its goals.
  The concerns expressed in this resolution cut to the heart of 
education reform today: Basic academics, local control, unlimited 
student opportunity and sufficient quality instructional time are at 
the forefront of local education efforts and are threatened by School-
to-Work. New Jersey is clearly concerned about a radical restructuring 
of its education system around federal workforce development, ''applied 
learning'' and limited student choice. Other states and Congress should 
take note of the New Jersey's courageous stand.
  Mr. Speaker, I hereby submit for the Record New Jersey Senate 
Resolution No. 73 and commend its content to our colleagues.

                        Senate Resolution No. 73

       Whereas, The Department of Education is developing a new 
     chapter of administrative code to implement the core 
     curriculum content standards and the Statewide assessment 
     system which will fundamentally reform public education in 
     New Jersey; and
       Whereas, A number of the proposals incorporated in the core 
     represent new graduation requirements for public schools 
     students and since the current requirements for graduation 
     were initially established by the Legislature under chapter 
     7C of Title 18a of the New Jersey Statutes, a revision of 
     those standards of the magnitude incorporated within the 
     proposed code and which represent a fundamental change in the 
     educational requirements for secondary school students should 
     undergo legislative review; and
       Whereas, the new code provisions will not be formally 
     proposed, according to the timetable set forth by the 
     Department of Education, until August, 1999; and
       Whereas, The new code provisions emphasize career education 
     and include three phases in this area: career awareness in 
     kindergarten through grade 4; career exploration in grades 5 
     through 8, with the development of individual career plans 
     during this phase; and career preparation in grades 9 through 
     12, with students being required to identify a career major, 
     from a list of fourteen majors, prior to the start of the 
     eleventh grade; and
       Whereas, The new code provisions require that eleventh and 
     twelfth grade students, for a minimum of one day per week or 
     the equivalent thereof, participate in a structured learning 
     experience which is linked to the students career plan and 
     which could include volunteer activities, community service, 
     paid or unpaid employment opportunities, school-based 
     enterprises, or participation in an apprenticeship program; 
     and
       Whereas, The new code provisions will make school-to-work a 
     requirement for all students in the State, and will result in 
     the loss of 20% of academic instructional time, putting 
     students at a competitive disadvantage in collegiate academic 
     programs; and
       Whereas, The school-to-work component of the new code 
     provisions will result in limiting students' choices far too 
     early in their lives and imposing job specific skills 
     training on the educational system at the expense of 
     instructional time in academic subjects; now, therefore,
       Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
       1. This House objects to the school-to-work provisions 
     incorporated in to the new chapter of administrative code 
     being developed by the Department of Education to implement 
     the core curriculum content standards and the Statewide 
     assessment system. This House urges that school-to-work 
     provisions be eliminated and that local boards of education 
     be allowed to determine the necessity and nature of any 
     career program for their own school district.
       2. The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a duly 
     authenticated copy of this resolution to the State Board of 
     Education and the Commissioner of Education.


                               STATEMENT

       This resolution expresses the objection of the Senate to 
     the school-to-work provisions incorporated into the new 
     chapter of administrative code being developed by the 
     Department of Education to implement the core curriculum 
     content standards and the Statewide assessment system. The 
     resolution also urges that school-to-work provisions be 
     eliminated and that local boards of education be permitted to 
     determine the necessity and nature of any career program for 
     their own school district. According to the department's 
     timetable, the new chapter of administrative code is not 
     scheduled to be formally proposed until August, 1999.
       The school-to-work provisions being developed by the 
     department represent a fundamental shift in the way the 
     children of New Jersey will be educated. The school-to-work 
     provisions emphasize career education and include three 
     phases: career awareness in kindergarten through grade 4; 
     career exploration in grades 5 through 8, with the 
     development of individual career plans during this phase; and 
     career preparation in grades 9 through 12, with students 
     being required to identify a career major, from a list of 
     fourteen majors, prior to the start of the eleventh grade. 
     Eleventh and twelfth grade students would be required to 
     participate in a structured learning experience which could 
     include volunteer activities, community service, paid or 
     unpaid employment opportunities, school-based enterprises, or 
     participation in an apprenticeship program. The structured 
     learning experience would be linked to the student's career 
     plan and would be required of every student for a minimum of 
     one day per week or the equivalent thereof, resulting in a 
     20% loss of academic instructional time. the school-to-work 
     proposal would limit students' choices too early in their 
     lives and impose job specific skills training on the 
     educational system at the expense of instructional time in 
     academic subjects.

     

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