Opinion ID: 2301105
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Enrollment and Recruitment

Text: Enrollment in Abbott preschool programs is not compulsory. If the promise of early childhood education is to be met, parents in the Abbott districts must not only be aware of the opportunity offered, but must be informed about the advantages of participation for their children. In some communities, recruitment will be critical to the success of the Abbott preschool venture. The issue in Abbott VI concerned the need for community outreach to inform parents about the availability of preschool for three- and four-year old children in the Abbott districts. Abbott VI, supra, 163 N.J. at 119, 748 A. 2d 82. The Court anticipated at that time that existing enrollments could be examined in order to determine, based on the projected preschool population, whether parents in the community are aware of the district's preschool programs. Ibid. Low enrollments would trigger a determination of parental awareness and, then, concerted outreach efforts to improve [those] enrollments. Ibid. At present, if the number of children in the early childhood programs do[es] not exceed 50 percent of the projected preschool population in the district, the [local] board [is required to] develop a corrective action plan to increase enrollments which shall be approved by the Commissioner and then implemented by the district. N.J.A.C. 6A:24-3.3(a)(8). The issue addressed below by the Chief Judge was, therefore, whether the Department, faced with evidence of such `low' enrollments, ha[d] taken appropriate steps to require that the districts determine the awareness of parents about ... preschool programs and, as appropriate, adopt plans to promote awareness and ... encourage enrollment. OAL Initial Decision at 42. A problem arose, however, because of a disagreement between the parties regarding the appropriate manner of determining the projected number of three- and four-year-olds in a district. Ibid. When outreach efforts are initiated based on the percentage of total eligible students, accuracy in projecting that number is essential. Before the Chief Judge, the Department's expert asserted, without documentation, that each district other than Elizabeth is serving at least 50% of its `projection.' Ibid. Plaintiffs' expert used his own methodology and calculated the number of eligible three- and four-year-old students in each district at twice the district's first-grade enrollment. Ibid. Using that figure and comparing it to the actual number of students enrolled, plaintiffs' expert concluded that twelve districts had enrollment rates below fifty percent, thereby triggering the community outreach corrective action requirement for those districts. Ibid. On the record before him, the Chief Judge was unable to determine which expert's calculation, if any, yielded the correct measurement of enrollment. Id. at 44. Thus, he was unable to adjudicate the issue whether, in respect of any Abbott district, the community outreach requirement had been triggered. In lieu of that determination, the Chief Judge urged the DOE to adopt a uniform standard through the administrative rulemaking process to measure districts' preschool enrollment and to determine the need for community outreach. Id. at 45. The Commissioner fully concurred with the Chief Judge and directed the development of appropriate regulations. Commissioner Decision at 74-75. On November 5, 2001, proposed amendments to N.J.A.C. 6A:24-3.3 were published in the New Jersey Register. 33 N.J.R. 3716, 3717-18. By those amendments, the Department has set forth a uniform method for calculating the universe of eligible three-and four-year-old children that averages the total number of public and non-public school kindergarten and first grade pupils in a district. N.J.A.C. 6A:24-3.3(a)(8). [A]ppropriate adjustments may be made to that figure based upon the documented history of the actual enrollments in the three- and four-year-old programs over the last three years, id. at (a)(9)(i), and to reflect any factors in the community that might affect the growth rate in the three- and four-year-old populations, such as a large employer moving in or out of the district, or a new housing development.... Id. at (a)(9)(ii). This method yields the minimum projected number of three-year-old and four-year-old children that must be served in the next school year.... Id. at (a)(9)(iii). In addition, the DOE has proposed an amendment to N.J.A.C. 6A:24-3.3(a)(8) that increases the outreach trigger from the current 50% to 90% by the 2003-04 school year. Id. at (b)(1) (moving the 2001-02 trigger to 70%, the 2002-03 trigger to 80%, and the 2003-04 trigger to 90%). We note as to those proposals that the districts' success in conducting outreach programs can be reviewed only if a uniform method for calculating projected enrollments is used. The variability that results when each district is permitted to develop its own methodology makes it considerably more difficult for the DOE to evaluate effective strategies to improve preschool attendance. In the end, it is the outreach effort that is critical to the success of the Abbott programs. We recognize that even if every parent is informed about the availability of preschool, not all parents will choose to enroll their children. As the State's experts reported in Evaluation of Early Childhood Programming in the 30 Abbott School Districts: Phase 1 Report (Feb. 2001), some parents may not wish to put their child[ren] in the `world' too soon, while others may prefer a more family-oriented child care environment or the flexibility of alternative child care options. Id. at 10. The decision not to enroll a child in the district's preschool program also may be affected by cultural attitudes, including distrust of the educational system, among other things. OAL Initial Decision at 43. The goal is to inform parents of preschool age children about the opportunity to enroll their children in the Abbott programs. In other words, children should not be denied the benefits of a quality preschool program simply because their parents do not know it exists. This appears to be an area where partnering with community organizations might be of great assistance in achieving outreach goals. By way of example, we are informed that the Department of Human Services entered into a $1.3 million contract with the Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey (Association) to provide recruitment services in Spanish-speaking communities. According to the State, these efforts have borne fruit. As of May 1, 2001, 1,789 of the 3,182 families contacted by the Association advised that they would enroll their children in an Abbott preschool program. Such results are encouraging. Nonetheless, thousands of children have not been enrolled in preschool in the Abbott districts. The DOE must work with the districts to develop corrective action plans when the districts do not meet enrollment goals and must review, with the districts, the effectiveness of these plans during the implementation phase.