Welcome back and a happy new year to all my wonderful readers. Here’s the beginning of my column today at WHYY’s Newsworks

As 2013 rolled to a close this week, the New Jersey State Legislature was busy with a grab bag of last-minute education bills. Call them stocking stuffers: sweet treats for constituents and lobbyists alike.

Who can say “nay” to a requirement that all districts provide full-day kindergarten or another that mandates daily recess for kindergarteners through 5th graders? Can any legislator turn tightwad over a bill that increases community participation by moving school board candidate deadlines from June to July? Any Scrooges ready to oppose a law that encourages joint purchasing agreements among local districts?

While most of these bills are no more contentious than froth on your eggnog, others provide tidings of 2014’s legislative fixation: oversight of special education services for children with disabilities and, particularly, services provided by N.J.’s robust cadre of private special education schools.

Read the rest here.