The Public School Education Act of 1975 (Chapter 212) set forth certain responsibilities of the New Jersey State Department of Education. Among them is the monitoring of local school districts to assure that the necessary elements are in place to "provide to all children . . . the educational opportunity which will prepare them to function politically, economically, and socially in a democratic society." A comprehensive review of the act and its implementation concluded that the monitoring process did not support the key component of the act (i.e., local planning for educational excellence). This manual revises the monitoring process to reflect the objectives set forth in the document entitled "Implementation of the Public School Education Act of 1975--A Renewed Commitment, March 1983." Section 1 describes steps involved in the first-level monitoring process and worksheets used in such monitoring. Section 2 describes steps involved in a second-level review process, to be implemented only if a district has failed to be certified as a result of first-level monitoring. Section 3 describes the planning cycle central to the 1975 act and explains the connection between the monitoring process and the annual education plan. Appended are first-level worksheets for all 10 program elements and associated indicators, and a glossary of related terms. (RH)