Schools
Anti-vaccine group seeks judge’s recusal from Rutgers mandate case
Rutgers students and an anti-vaccine group suing the university in an attempt to override its vaccine mandate asked a U.S. District Court judge to recuse himself from the lawsuit, charging his time as a part-time Rutgers lecturer risks the appearance of a conflict. The suit, lodged last month by 12 current or future Rutgers students […]
Activists worry new LGBTQ curriculum is not being taught in most schools
With some New Jersey classrooms re-opening to students this week, activists who championed a law mandating school districts develop an LGBTQ curriculum say they are focusing on ensuring the state’s 600 districts are teaching the lessons required by the law. Schools should have already integrated the curriculum that teaches the historical and societal contributions of […]
Teachers meet school year with excitement, fear
There’s a current of fear beneath the excitement educators typically feel when they return to classrooms in early September. The cause is clear: COVID-19. “People are worried. you don’t want to give it to a young one. You don’t want to give it to an elderly grandparent,” said Sean Spiller, president of the New Jersey […]
State to provide $267M in school virus testing grants
School districts around the state will receive $267 million in state aid to stand up virus testing programs as the school year begins, Gov. Phil Murphy announced this week. The funds, which state officials expect will be reimbursed using federal dollars made available under the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan, will allow schools to […]
Judges deny school districts’ appeal for changes to funding formula
A three-judge panel shot down an appeal lodged by school boards in three shore counties seeking to tweak the school funding formula lawmakers approved in 2018. The school boards — including those in Brick, Jackson, Freehold, and others — sought to regain state aid lost under the funding formula changes. But the appellate panel denied the […]
Calls grow for vaccine mandate in child care centers
Gov. Phil Murphy’s new executive order requiring the state’s teachers be vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 tests has a blind spot. The mandate imposed by Monday’s order extends to public and private preschools associated with a school board, but it does not cover licensed child care centers that don’t share such affiliations. Advocates said that […]
School employees must vaccinate by Oct. 18 or submit to weekly tests
School faculty and staff workers must complete a vaccine regiment by Oct. 18 or submit to between one and two COVID-19 tests each week, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday. The new mandate, which will also apply to state workers, may be the most expansive New Jersey has yet seen. Some workers in health care, corrections, […]
Most voters support school mask, vaccine mandates, poll finds
New Jersey voters support requiring masking in schools, and just over half support mandating children over the age of 12 take the vaccine to attend in-person classes, a Monmouth University poll released Monday found. Two-thirds of respondents, 67%, told pollsters they backed the schools mask mandate Gov. Phil Murphy announced in early August. Under those […]
As childhood hunger rises, calls grow for free meals in schools for all
Before the pandemic, Angeline Dean arranged a field trip to the Trenton Statehouse for students — mostly kids of color — to see lawmakers who looked like them in action. The community organizer hoped the trip would inspire them to dream grand futures for themselves. One child had a question. “He asked: ‘Will there be […]
Murphy: Decision on school vaccine mandate to come before end of August
Gov. Phil Murphy expects to issue guidance on immunization requirements in schools before the end of August, he said at a press briefing Monday. “My guess is in the next two or three weeks, we’ll have something that we’ll be able to put out there,” Murphy said, adding his administration is working on the issue. […]
Announcement of mask mandate in N.J. schools greeted with cheers, boos
New Jersey teachers and students getting ready for school this fall will have to add one more thing to their back-to-school lists: masks. New Jersey will reinstate its mask mandate for all K-12 students, teachers, and staff, regardless of vaccination status, for the upcoming school year, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday. “I want as much […]
As school year nears, calls grow for a vaccine mandate for teachers
With school set to start in-person in most New Jersey districts in a month, superintendents are busy announcing all the safety measures they hope will keep COVID-19 away and prevent a return to remote learning. Largely missing from that messaging is any report on how many teachers are still not vaccinated — and whether they […]