Committee to Vote on Codey/Turner Legislation Banning School Employees From Using Unaccredited Degrees
TRENTON – The New Jersey Senate Education Committee will hold hearings tomorrow, October 2, to examine the controversy surrounding school employees’ use of “diploma mills” to obtain advanced degrees and subsequent salary perks. The hearing comes amidst a number of recent reports that top school administrators have received advanced degrees from unaccredited online universities, or diploma mills, and then received tuition reimbursement and salary increases for these unrecognized degrees.
Senate President Richard J. Codey (D-Essex), a lead sponsor of a bill to ban this practice, will kick off the testimony tomorrow, followed by state Department of Education Commissioner Lucille Davy, Executive Director of the Commission on Higher Education Jane Oates, and officials from the NJEA, the School Boards Association, and the Association of School Administrators.
Following testimony, the Education Committee will vote on Senate bill 2127, co-sponsored by Codey and Education Committee Chairwoman Senator Shirley K. Turner (D-Mercer), which would require that all school employees receive degrees from officially accredited colleges and universities in order to receive any tuition reimbursement or pay augmentation.
The hearing will take place on Thursday, October 2, 2008, at 10 am in Committee Room 6 of the State House Annex.
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