NJ Graduation Lawsuit Settled: 'Portfolio' Can Be Used As PARCC Substitute In 2016

High school seniors in New Jersey will have extra ways to fulfill their 2016 graduation requirements thanks to a recent settlement agreement.

The agreement – signed on Friday - settles a legal battle over graduation requirements between the Newark-based Education Law Center (ELC) and the New Jersey ACLU, and the NJ Department of Education.

• See related article: Stop Using PARCC and SAT For High School Graduation, N.J. Lawsuit Demands

Last year, NJ Commissioner of Education David Hespe announced that the state’s high school students would face new graduation requirements starting in 2016, nixing the long-used High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) and Alternative High School Assessment (AHSA) tests in favor of the fledgling PARCC (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) exams.

The lawsuit contended that when Hespe announced the new graduation guidelines, the Department of Education failed to follow existing regulations or propose new ones under the NJ Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

According to the ELC, its constituents had raised concerns about the potential impact of the proposed policies, especially among at-risk students, English language learners, students with disabilities and students with special needs.

“For example, the elimination of the AHSA will close a pathway to graduation used by as many as 10,000 students annually, including more than half of all English language learner graduates,” ELC representatives stated in a release.

“The use of fee-based commercial tests, including the SAT and ACT, as high school graduation exams also raises questions about equal access and the alignment of these tests with state standards,” ELC representatives added.

An administrative law judge stated in April that New Jersey education officials may have broken the law in deciding to use PARCC as the new high school exit exam.

• See related article: New Jersey May Have Broken Law On PARCC, Judge Says

SETTLEMENT TERMS

The full settlement agreement can be seen online here.

Under the agreement, “students who don’t meet test-based graduation requirements [such as the PARCC] will have greater protections and options in using a portfolio review process as an alternative pathway to graduation until the adoption of final regulations,” the ELA stated in a news release.

“In addition, if a school district determines that a student has not met the graduation testing requirement, including through the portfolio review process, that determination will be immediately reviewed by the NJ DOE,” the ELA stated.

The settlement also sets time frames by which districts must inform students that a portfolio review is required and requires NJ DOE to make public important data on the process, according to the ELA.

However, the ELA had some words of caution for future graduates in the Garden State:

“Although the settlement covers the class of 2016, and members of other graduating classes until the new regulations are adopted, the agreement does not address potential legal issues arising from the NJ DOE's proposed graduation rule changes currently under consideration.”

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File photo: John Walker, via Flickr Commons