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TASK FORCES State Legislature, NJDOE, and NJ Department of Health.
Member Roundtables during the pandemic discussed how to
FOCUS GROUPS handle school life in a pandemic world with social distancing
requirements and health policies that changed on a dime!
& COMMISSIONS These included conducting high school graduation, safely
conducting lunch at school, learning strategies to address
Some Examples interrupted learning, health and safety guidelines, school bus
transportation, contact tracing and other health services in
schools, and student mental health needs.
The NJPSA Critical Issues Committee, also led by the GR
• Every Anti-Bullying Task Force established Team, seeks to study a current policy issue impacting NJPSA
by law in our state members with a more detailed-eye, examining the research,
• Numerous school funding task forces, work operational impacts, and developing recommendations on
the issue. Past work of the Critical Issues Committee resulted
groups and coalitions in a joint report and policy recommendations by NJPSA and
• Teacher Leader Advisory Board NJASA on the topics of Educator Evaluation and High School
Graduation Requirements, which was submitted to Governor
• High School Redesign Committee Phil Murphy upon his initial election to office. Currently, the
Critical Issues Committee is exploring the issues of interrupted
• Dual Enrollment Study Commission learning, learning acceleration, and strategies for recouping
learning following school closures during the pandemic. In all
• Education and Law Enforcement of these areas, the GR team seeks to be your bridge to, and
Working Group voice at, the many, ongoing education policy table discussions
in New Jersey and in Washington D.C.
• N.J. School Security Task Force
• Education Transformation Task Force In the political sphere, the GR Team regularly develops an
Election section on the NJPSA website, which includes a
• Transition Teams of successive Governors survey soliciting the views of political candidates on issues
prior to their term in office of interest to NJPSA members in key New Jersey election
cycles. Government Relations also provides staffing to the
• No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and successor NJPSA-PAC, the association’s political action committee
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) established to support legislative candidates who support
Stakeholder Groups focused on field public education and the legislative goals of school leaders.
By founding and providing technical support to NJPSA-
implementation of these federal laws in New PAC, the GR Team helps NJPSA members foster stronger
Jersey relationships with legislators in the political world that they
must work within.
• NJ Human Relations Council
• NJ Food for Thought Coalition Drilling Down: NJPSA Advocacy
• Special Education Advisory Council at the State Legislature
• Each issue-based task force exploring Once NJPSA’s policy position is developed on a bill,
education policy changes such as those advocacy efforts often take the form of presenting live
discussing educator evaluation and tenure, testimony before the Senate or Assembly Education
New Jersey’s Student Learning Standards, Committee, where legislation is considered, debated, and
assessment, later start times for students, often amended before moving to the entire legislative
gifted and talented education, school security body for a full vote. Sometimes, it is the subtlest change in
language that can mean a big difference in how our members
issues, college and career readiness, and will be affected by new laws. NJPSA regularly leads the way
the wide spectrum of health and operational in obtaining significant amendments to legislation among the
issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic education community before a new law is enacted, always
through NJDOE Focus Groups with the seeking to improve legislation so it works for our members,
Commissioner of Education and staff our students, and our schools.
