State’s Nonpublic School Textbook, Technology and Security Programs
Page 4 • Wednesday, September 25, 2019 • The Hammonton Gazette
FUNDiNG, from Page 1
Marjorie Crawford met with St.
Joseph High School principal Fa-
ther Allain B. Caparas, and with
St. Joseph Regional Elementary
School principal Sister Betty Jean
Takacs. These meetings regarded
the Nonpublic School Textbook
Program, the Nonpublic School
Technology Initiative and the
Nonpublic School Security Pro-
gram.
The textbook program, the old-
est of the three, was adopted into
law in 1974. According to the
New Jersey Department of Educa-
tion, it requires the district board
of education of each school dis-
trict in which a nonpublic school
is located to purchase and to loan
textbooks upon individual request,
and without charge, to all kinder-
garten through 12th grade stu-
dents who are enrolled in and
attend public or nonpublic school
in the district.
The language of N.J. Stat §
18A:58-37.1 (1974) makes clear
the intent of the program: “The
Legislature hereby finds and de-
termines that the security and wel-
fare of the State require the fullest
development of the material re-
sources and skills of its youth. To
achieve this objective increased
efforts must be undertaken to ed-
ucate more of the talent of our
State. It is hereby declared to be
the public policy of the State, that
the public welfare and safety re-
quire that the State and local com-
munities provide assistance to
educational programs which are
important to the welfare of the
State.”
Similarly, the nonpublic tech-
nology initiative program, to
which each board of education in
each public school district in New
Jersey is required to adhere, is de-
signed to provide nonpublic
school students with computers,
educational software, distance
learning equipment and other
technologies that can improve
their education and to give non-
public school teachers the re-
sources and incentives to use
educational technologies effec-
tively to improve teaching and
learning in the classroom. Its
exact origins, however, are not as
clear.
“We’re unable to identify ex-
actly when the initiative was first
included in the annual appropria-
tions act, but it appears to date
back at least to 2000,” N.J. De-
partment of Education Director of
Public Information Michael Yaple
said.
The law authorizing the non-
public school security program
was passed in 2016, and the first
year of the program was the 2017
school year.
Guidelines released by the De-
partment of Education include the
following: “The Nonpublic
School Security Program requires
the board of education in each
school district in New Jersey to
adopt policies and procedures to
provide security services, equip-
ment, and technology to all quali-
fying nonpublic schools located in
the public school district, within
the limit of funds appropriated. A
school district must provide secu-
rity services, equipment, and tech-
nology to the nonpublic school
directly or through a provider, and
must maintain administrative con-
trol over all funds and program re-
quirements.”
These funds in question do not
come from local taxpayers. In-
stead, they come directly from the
state.
“The money to fund these pro-
grams is authorized from the an-
nual Appropriations Act (state of
New Jersey’s budget) and is
passed down to us from the State,”
Crawford wrote in an email to The
Gazette.
As per the Department of Edu-
cation, the entitlement that each
nonpublic school receives is deter-
mined by multiplying the rate per
pupil authorized in the language
of the Appropriations Act and the
number of pupils on roll in the
nonpublic school as of the last
See SCHOOLS, Page 12
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