Students Get 2nd Chance At Spring Sports In NJ Bridge Year Pilot

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey high school juniors and seniors who missed out on sports or extracurricular activities last spring because of the coronavirus pandemic are getting a second chance for one final season, under a program set up by the state Department of Education.

Guidelines for the Bridge Year Pilot Program were announced Jan. 22 and apply to students in the classes of 2021 and 2022 to defer graduation for one year while they take additional academics and participate in sports or other extracurricular activities.

High school seniors wanting to take part in the Bridge Year program this year must notify their high schools by Feb. 15.

The pilot program was created in response to the loss of the final three months of the 2019-2020 school year. State Sen. Paul Sarlo, a Democrat from Bergen County, and Sen. Teresa Ruiz, a Democrat from Essex County, sponsored the initial legislation, with the intent of providing both academic benefits and sports and club opportunities for sophomores and juniors who lost time when schools were forced to go to remote instruction from March through June 2020.

"Losing in-person instruction for challenging college preparatory classes can negatively impact their grades and hurt their chances of being admitted to a more competitive college or receiving a scholarship," Sarlo said.

Sarlo had advocated for the opportunity for student-athletes to be able to play their sport for one more year in April 2020, NJ.com reported at the time, as the pandemic was first raging but before the spring seasons were officially canceled.

Part of Sarlo's bridge year proposal was to allow students staying an extra year to attend community college at a reduced tuition. It also allows students the chance to retake their SATs to improve scores, and for those who are not athletes, allow them to participate in a school activity they missed in the spring of 2020.

"The bridge year can provide much needed academic loss mitigation, by offering students the opportunity to retake SATs and carefully consider their college decision while completing gen-ed courses and gaining valuable experience from high school extracurriculars," Ruiz said when the state Senate unanimously passed the bill. Gov. Phil Murphy signed the bill into law June 26.

Here are the guidelines:

• Students must be in the classes of 2021 or 2022
• They must have met all their state and local graduation requirements by the end of their senior year of high school;
• Be 19 years old or younger during the entirety of the bridge year; a student that would turn 20 years old before the end of their bridge year is not eligible to participate (with the exclusion of special education students).
• Only spring sports are eligible for participation; fall and winter sports participation is not permitted. Other extracurricular activities (theatre, band, clubs) are not limited to a spring season.
• Students can defer graduation from high school for one year to participate in an additional year of academic courses and extracurricular activities immediately following their senior year.
• During the student’s bridge year, the student must remain enrolled in the high school they attended as a junior.
• Each semester of the bridge year, participating students must take between nine and 12 credits. During the fall semester, those credits may be host high school credits, credits from the county college of the county in which the host high school is located, or a combination. In the spring semester, participating students must receive all credits from the county college of the county in which the host high school is located.
• During either semester, participating students may also take up to three credits offered by a four-year institution of higher education at any high school in the state or at any other location to fulfill the student’s credit requirement.
• Students must maintain a grade point average of 2.0 during the bridge year.

Bridge Year students participating in extracurricular activities must pay applicable student athletics and activities fees and are subject to the host high school’s student code of conduct, athletic code of conduct, and any other applicable codes, rules, or policies that other students participating in the spring sport or extracurricular activity are required to follow.

All public school districts, including charter and renaissance schools, that enroll high school students must offer all eligible students the opportunity to participate in Bridge Year. It is optional for nonpublic schools.

The requirement for public schools to offer the opportunity comes with several concerns, including the financial impact of students remaining in school for an additional year and the need for the public school district to oversee the participation of students, including ensuring they are meeting grade and attendance requirements to participate.

The New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association also raised concerns about the ability of coaches to cut players who've sought a bridge year, and the potential for younger students to be cut from a team because fiscal challenges limit a school's ability to increase the size of team.

"Our members note that high school athletics are about team building, school connection and the experience of playing on a high school team, not primarily recruitment," the association said in a statement to the legislature ahead of the bill's passage. "We do not believe that participation in the Bridge program should guarantee a team slot."

Under the law, public institutions of higher education are required to accept all applicable credits that a student who completes Bridge Year earned during their bridge year.

Students with disabilities who receive special education and related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must be granted the opportunity to participate in a district’s Bridge Year in accordance with federal and state special education requirements.

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