Wasser Watch

ANGELINI, O’SCANLON, CASAGRANDE AND RIBLE DIPLOMA MILL BILL CLEARS ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE


Legislation sponsored by Assembly Republican members Mary Pat Angelini, Declan O’Scanlon, Caroline Casagrande and Dave Rible that imposes stringent requirements for school districts to provide their employees with tuition assistance for coursework or additional compensation upon acquisition of academic credits or completion of a degree program was approved today by the Assembly Education Committee.

The legislation was created in the wake of the revelation that certain members of school administrations as well as teachers, were receiving higher degrees from non-accredited schools or “diploma mills,” for which they received pay raises.

“Let approval of this bill today serve as notice to all school employees in New Jersey that this Legislature and the public will not tolerate fraud in our educational system,” said Angelini, R-Monmouth. “It is imperative that schools officials meet high educational standards in order to set appropriate examples for students and provide them with the best education possible. Those who take short cuts and earn phony degrees should not be rewarded with the same benefits as those who put in the time and hard work to earn a degree from a legitimate institution.”

“Manipulation of the system should not be tolerated at any level, and must not ever be tolerated in our schools,” commented O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth and Mercer. “While the majority of teachers and administrators in our state set high examples for themselves and their students, there are a few who, unfortunately, have taken advantage of existing loopholes. Passage of this bipartisan measure today moves us closer to ending this practice.”

Specifically, the bill, A-3671/A-3228 provides that the following conditions must be met in order for a board of education to provide its employees with tuition assistance or additional compensation for academic credits or completion of a degree:

*The institution shall be a duly authorized institution of higher education.
*The employee shall obtain approval from the superintendent of schools prior to enrollment in any course for which tuition assistance is sought. In the case of a superintendent, the approval shall be obtained from the board of education; and
*The tuition assistance or additional compensation shall be provided only for a course or degree related to the employee’s current or future job responsibilities.

“With education costs driving our highest-in-the-nation property tax rates, the last thing we need are educators purchasing fraudulent degrees in an effort to increase their salaries at taxpayer expense,” noted Casagrande, R-Monmouth and Mercer. “This legislation is an important reform to end a practice that has been on-going for far too long to the detriment of both students and our state’s long-suffering taxpayers.”

“The practice of acquiring degrees from unaccredited universities does a disservice to the students and their parents who are deceived into thinking that the people running their schools possess certain education credentials,” said Rible, R-Monmouth. “School officials who exploited this loophole should be ashamed of themselves for tarnishing our state’s educational system and bilking taxpayers of their hard-earned money. Fortunately, lawmakers have worked in a bipartisan manner to rectify the situation.”

The bill now heads to the full Assembly for a vote.