Majority Opposed to OPRA Bill, Students in Failing Districts Deserve Choice, Prisons Remove Phone Contact, A Decision on County Line Appeal Coming Soon, Cherry Blossoms in Bloom

Overwhelming Majority Against Gutting OPRA
NJ Spotlight

Some 81% of registered New Jersey voters do not support proposed legislative changes to the state’s Open Public Records Act, according to a new FDU Poll. Critics of the legislation say it would make it more difficult for the public to get certain kinds of information. NJ Spotlight

New Bill Seeks to Help Students in Failing Districts
NJ Education Report

NJEA aside, there is a strong case to be made that students redlined into terrible schools should have the right to attend better ones, even if they’re private. In fact, 21 states offer tax-credit scholarships. Shouldn’t Newark parents have the right to alternatives other than, say Avon Elementary School, where not a single fourth-grader can read or do math at grade-level, even if they can’t afford the tuition at top-rated St. Benedict’s? Why is school choice for low-income families limited to scant seats in our superb charter sector (with 28,000 students on wait lists) or the moribund Interdistrict Public School Choice Program, which lets districts enroll non-resident students when they have room?  Link

Prisons Blocking Access to Phones for Thousands
New Jersey Monitor

For people in prison, phone calls can reduce feelings of isolation, improve behavior behind bars, and ensure a smoother return to society after they’re freed, research has shown.

Yet state Department of Corrections officials have yanked the phone privileges of thousands of incarcerated people as punishment for disciplinary infractions, sometimes for a year or even far longer, a state watchdog has found. Link

Circuit Court To Respond to County Line Appeal Promptly
NJ Globe

After a two-hour appellate hearing today on whether or not a lower court ruling striking down the New Jersey county line should be overturned, a panel of Third Circuit Court of Appeals judges has promised a swift response in the time-sensitive case.

“We’ve got the matter under advisement, and we recognize the importance of timing,” Circuit Judge Kent Jordan said at the conclusion of the hearing. “We will get back to you promptly.” Link

New Jersey Cherry Blossoms in Bloom
northjersey.com

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