New Jersey, like elsewhere in the country, is in the midst of an ongoing teacher shortage. Educators and experts turned out in overwhelming support for a package of bills that cleared the Assembly Education Committee on Thursday, aimed at reversing that shortage. Assembly Education Committee Chair Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden) explained that many of the bills came from recommendations offered by a task force recently convened by Gov. Phil Murphy to attract and keep more teachers in the classroom.
“Number one barrier is the cost of education. So we’re removing restrictions of transfer of credits, establishing a tuition remission program for educators. And when we look at the high cost of student teaching, our student teachers go off to classrooms, they don’t get paid, and still have to pay tuition, so it’s another issue we need to address,” said Lampitt.
