Governor Mikie Sherrill • Lt. Governor Shirley U. Emehelu

Portfolio Appeals Submission Process

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) will be accepting portfolio appeals submissions for eligible grade 12 students in the class of 2027 through the electronic submission process beginning on January 4, 2027. Local education agencies (LEAs) and approved private schools for students with disabilities (APSSDs) may not mail or hand-deliver portfolio appeals to the NJDOE.

Each LEA and APSSD must designate an individual to serve as the portfolio appeals coordinator. This person must be assigned to the Portfolio Appeals project in NJDOE Homeroom which will be available beginning on January 4, 2027. The portfolio appeals coordinator is responsible for:

  • Uploading the required documentation to the Portfolio Appeals project in Homeroom for NJDOE review; and
  • Downloading outcome letters to share with principals and chief school administrators.

To ensure adequate processing time for June graduation ceremonies, portfolio appeals must be submitted by May 3, 2027. LEAs and APSSDs may continue to upload files as needed through August 26, 2027 for students who are expected to graduate with the class of 2027 (students graduating between September 1, 2026, and August 31, 2027).

The following templates need to be completed prior to NJDOE Homeroom submission and are available under the Forms and Templates section of the Graduation Assessment Requirement webpage:

  • Statement of Assurance (SOA) for Portfolio Appeals
    • Outlines the portfolio appeals requirements and expectations.
    • Requires the signature of the portfolio appeals coordinator, high school principal, and chief school administrator to affirm that the portfolio appeals process has been done with integrity in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:7C-3 and N.J.A.C. 6A:8-5.1.
    • Must be completed and uploaded at least once for each school submitting portfolio appeals. After the initial submission, a new SOA is only required if the portfolio appeals coordinator, high school principal, or chief school administrator changes.
  • Portfolio Appeals Data Spreadsheet
    • Provides LEAs and APSSD with a standardized submission template and includes a variety of commonly used, required fields (e.g., Accountable District Code, State Student Identifier).
    • Includes ELA and mathematics specific fields for LEAs and APSSDs to submit students’ scores on constructed response tasks.
    • A separate spreadsheet must be completed and submitted for each school within the LEA or APSSD submitting portfolio appeals.

Once the documents have been prepared with the necessary information, rename the files using the following naming convention, including the upload date, prior to uploading them to NJDOE Homeroom:

  • Update the SOA for Portfolio Appeals using the following naming convention: 2027SOAPortfolioAppealsCDSCode-UploadDate.pdf
    • Example 1 - 2027SOAPortfolioAppeals991234001-1.6.27
    • Example 2 - 2027SOAPortfolioAppeals991234001-1.13.27
  • Update the Portfolio Appeals Data Spreadsheet using the following naming convention: 2027PortfolioAppealsDataCDSCode-UploadDate.xlsx
    • Example 1 - 2027PortfolioAppealsData991234-1.6.27
    • Example 2 - 2027PortfolioAppealsData991234-1.13.27

LEAs and APSSDs may upload files as many times as needed throughout the submission window. When submitting student information on the Portfolio Appeals Data Spreadsheet, only submit those students who have completed the portfolio appeals process for at least one component (ELA, mathematics or both). If a student completes the process later, an additional submission may be made. The “Receipt” button in the upper right-hand corner of the application will allow LEAs and APSSDs to see the documents they have submitted for review.

LEAs and APSSDs are expected to store their students’ completed portfolio appeals materials onsite in accordance with local document retention policies. On-site review of these documents may occur at the discretion of the NJDOE. Below is a list of the materials that must be maintained locally for each student:

  • A completed Education Proficiency Plan (EPP) that includes the most current student transcript, documentation of performance on New Jersey Graduation Proficiency Assessment-Adaptive (NJGPA-A) and substitute competency assessments (if taken), and an intervention plan implemented to ensure the student met the graduation assessment requirement.
  • Constructed response tasks in the content areas (ELA and/or mathematics) in which the student has not met the graduation assessment requirement.
  • The required quantity of a student’s graded responses to constructed response tasks in each content area.
  • A content-specific cover sheet found under the Forms and Templates section of the Graduation Assessment Requirements webpage.

LEAs and APSSDs may choose whether to maintain their students’ completed portfolio appeals materials in paper form or digital form. When establishing your system for maintaining the portfolio appeals materials for each student, consider the following questions:

  • Can these materials be located quickly if they are requested for review?
  • Is there an established system for storing these materials that all necessary staff are aware of?
  • If there are changes in staffing, will these materials still be accessible to the next person in charge of this process?
Page Last Updated: 11/09/2026