DeCroce Bill to Restrict Standardized Tests in New Jersey Passes Assembly

Students in the Garden State should not be given standardized tests until they reach the third grade, according to several New Jersey lawmakers including the chairman of the Assembly Education Committee.

There is a push to prohibit, by law, administering standardized exams from kindergarten through second grade.

Bi-partisan legislation co-sponsored by Assembly members, Pat Diegnan (D-South Plainfield), Charles Mainor (D-Jersey City), Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange) and Betty Lou DeCroce (R-Parsippany) would codify in law that the exams can’t be administered until a child enters third grade. The bill does not ban all testing in grades K-2. Evaluations can be given and scored by a teacher or school board.

“Children in the early grades should spend as much class time as possible learning the fundamentals of reading, math and social skills,” DeCroce said. “These years are crucial for forming the foundation for future education. Instead of testing them to collect data, we should allow kids to be kids.”

According to the measure, schools would have to provide information — no later than Oct. 1 of each year — that would include:
The reason for the test;
How much preparation time is needed;
The length of the tests;
The rules and costs associated with each test.

DeCroce Introduces NJ Pediatric Cancer Research Fund Bill

Source: Assembly Republican Press Release

Legislation establishing the “New Jersey Pediatric Cancer Research Fund,” which allows taxpayers to make a voluntary contribution on their income tax return, was introduced by Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce today. Funds collected will support cancer research projects approved by the New Jersey State Commission on Cancer Research.

“One of a parent’s most traumatic experiences is learning their child has cancer,” said DeCroce, R-Morris, Essex and Passaic. “The causes of pediatric cancer still perplex the medical community, but we know the heartache it causes. Medical breakthroughs to treat this disease start with research.”

CureSearch for Children’s Cancer, a national non-profit organization dedicated to funding children’s cancer research, has noted that for the past 25 years there have only been two new drugs developed specifically for children’s cancer.

“As we have seen when catastrophe strikes, New Jersey’s citizens are most generous and compassionate,” explained DeCroce. “Through a voluntary check-off on a tax return, we can focus funding that is committed to researching causes and treatments for an affliction that affects children and brings anxiety and pain to their loved ones.”

DeCroce’s bill, A-4491, is in honor of a West Milford youth, Aaron Newton, who is a survivor of neurablastoma cancer. Aaron and his parents are advocates for increasing awareness regarding childhood cancer.

More children lose their battle to cancer than asthma, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, and pediatric AIDS combined. On average, one out of four elementary schools has a child with cancer. The average high school has two students who are a current or former cancer patient.

DeCroce Named 'Champion' For Work On Health Care For Women And Babies

Source: Montville Patch-

District 26 Asw. BettyLou DeCroce received the New Jersey Primary Care Association’s “Community Health Center Champion Award” for 2013 at a special ceremony Friday at the Golden Nugget Hotel in Atlantic City. The association said DeCroce was recognized for her commitment to improving outcomes in high-risk pregnancies throughout the Garden State.

“I am sincerely humbled by this recognition and would like to thank the NJPCA for this honor,” said the lawmaker, who represents citizens of Morris, Essex and Passaic counties. “In New Jersey, we are fortunate to have access to some of the best medical care in the country. That being said, there’s no excuse for not making sure we provide high-risk, expectant mothers and their babies with the best possible care and outcomes.”

DeCroce sponsored Assembly Bill A-4056, which she said would improve outcomes in high-risk pregnancies and improve the health of low-income mothers and their newborns with more thorough testing and pre-natal care.

“After listening to powerful testimony about the high rate of miscarriages in our state during an Assembly Women and Children Committee meeting last fall, I introduced a bill requiring more proactive monitoring and care during the crucial perinatal period, from the 20th week of a pregnancy through the first four weeks after a baby’s birth,” she said. “I am confident that with the collaboration of the New Jersey Primary Care Association and medical professionals and advocacy groups, we can bring this life-saving legislation to fruition.”

The New Jersey Primary Care Association is a nonprofit corporation that represents community-based ambulatory health care providers and affiliates across the state.

DeCroce said the measure so far is finding bipartisan support in Trenton.

DeCroce Recieves Community Health Center Champion Award From The New Jersey Primary Care Association

Source: Assembly Republican Press Release -

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce was presented with the New Jersey Primary Care Association’s “Community Health Center Champion Award” for her commitment to improving outcomes in high-risk pregnancies in New Jersey.

“I am sincerely humbled by this recognition and would like to thank the NJPCA for this honor,” said DeCroce, R- Morris, Essex andPassaic. “In New Jersey, we are fortunate to have access to some of the best medical care in the country. That being said, there’s no excuse for not making sure we provide high-risk, expectant mothers and their babies with the best possible care and outcomes.”

DeCroce is the sponsor of bi-partisan legislation, A-4056, to improve outcomes in high-risk pregnancies and improve the health of low-income mothers and their newborns with more thorough testing and pre-natal care.

“After listening to powerful testimony about the high rate of miscarriages in our state during an Assembly Women and Children Committee meeting last fall, I introduced a bill requiring more proactive monitoring and care during the crucial perinatal period, from the 20th week of a pregnancy through the first four weeks after a baby’s birth,” stated DeCroce, who received the award at a conference today, at The Golden Nugget Hotel in Atlantic City.

“I am confident that with the collaboration of the New Jersey Primary Care Association and medical professionals and advocacy groups, we can bring this life-saving legislation to fruition.”

DeCroce was elected to the General Assembly to represent the constituents of the 26th Legislative District in 2012. She serves on the Assembly Education, Assembly Women and Children, and Assembly Higher Education committees, and the Joint Committee on Public Schools.

She is the former Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, where she oversaw the Division on Local Government Services and the Division on Women.

New Jersey Primary Care Association, Inc. (NJPCA) is a not-for-profit corporation that represents the organizational providers and affiliates of community-based ambulatory healthcare, specifically focusing on FQHCs, in the State ofNew Jersey.