New Jersey Public Charter Schools Association President and CEO Harry Lee issued the following statement reacting to Governor Murphy’s announcement about State learning loss initiatives, mental health support, and the State’s plan to seek a federal waiver on conducting statewide assessments this year.

Whether it is conducting daily wellness phone calls with students or hosting one-on-one tutoring in the evenings, New Jersey’s public charter schools have found remarkable ways to meet the needs of our students and families during this public health crisis. Despite our tremendous agility and ability to innovate, we continue to need State guidance and resources to navigate the educational roadblocks caused by the pandemic. The grant opportunities announced by Governor Murphy will begin to address two of our schools’ top concerns— mental health support and student learning loss caused by remote instruction.

We know that going forward data will play a critical role in ensuring our most vulnerable students get the services they need. That is why we also appreciate the commonsense approach to the collection and analysis of student learning data while also not overburdening already-strained students and schools with the spring administration of statewide assessments.