Several committees met at the State House over the past week and advanced a variety of bills relevant to boards of education in New Jersey. In addition to those pieces of legislation (listed below), the New Jersey School Boards Association continues to keep its eye on state budget negotiations, which are expected to conclude by the end of June.
Assembly Education Committee
The Assembly Education Committee met on Monday, June 16, and approved the following bills:
Epilepsy and Seizure Disorder Training A-2255/S-2376 would amend “Paul’s Law” (P.L.2019, c.290) which requires each board of education to coordinate the care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders. Specifically, the law requires that all staff employed by a board of education be trained in the care of such students but does not require that the training be completed at regular intervals. This bill would amend the law to require that this training take place every five years (as introduced, the measure would have mandated such training every two years).
The NJSBA supports the bill as amended, which was passed by the Senate earlier this month.
Out-of-School Time Advisory Commission A-2414 would establish a New Jersey Out-of-School Time Advisory Commission. The duty of the commission would be to assess the state’s out-of-school time programs by reviewing state policy governing these programs alongside existing research and best practices and to make recommendations to increase the accountability and quality of before-school, after-school and summer programs. The commission would be comprised of 22 members, including one representative of the NJSBA.
The NJSBA supports the bill. Its counterpart in the Senate, S-3457, was approved by the Senate Education Committee in March.
Expanding Early Child Education A-5717, or the “New Jersey Universal Preschool and Kindergarten Act,” would make various updates to preschool funding and set new kindergarten requirements. The bill would effectively codify into statute the state’s existing preschool expansion aid program, while also ensuring all elementary school districts offer free, full-day kindergarten to all five-year-old students.
Under the bill, a school district first receiving preschool education aid in one of the next three school years and participating in a pilot program established by the commissioner would be allowed to exceed its local tax levy cap by an increase amounting to the local share of preschool education costs. If a district is already providing full-day preschool for three- and four-year-olds, the bill would allow that district to use state-provided preschool education aid for additional purposes designated by the commissioner. The bill would require districts receiving preschool education aid to obtain commissioner approval prior to implementing any significant redistribution of state-funded preschool seats among district-operated programs, licensed childcare providers, and Head Start programs. The bill also lays out application requirements for NJDOE preschool expansion grants, which would be made eligible to districts that meet certain criteria, including already providing full-day kindergarten. The bill also sets several requirements for districts receiving preschool education aid, including demonstrating due diligence to implement “mixed delivery” preschool programs (i.e. partnering with licensed childcare providers and Head Starts) and participating in a system of self-assessment. Finally, the bill would establish a Universal Preschool Implementation Steering Committee – with subcommittees to solicit input from local practitioners – within NJDOE and would require NJDOE to develop a Mixed Delivery Model Preschool Handbook.
The bill would also set a kindergarten enrollment birthday deadline of October 1 of that school year and would require districts to provide free full-day kindergarten (or enter into a send-receive relationship for full-day kindergarten) by the beginning of the 2029-2030 school year.
In committee testimony, the NJSBA reiterated its testimony from a previous committee meeting by expressing its overall support for the bill’s goal to achieve universal preschool, while avoiding a statewide mandate, as the introduced version of the bill would have imposed. The NJSBA supported the codification of the preschool aid into law as well as the tax cap relief it would grant to districts to help them pay for preschool expansion.
The NJSBA also expressed some concerns about the bill, namely the potential unfunded mandate for free, full-day kindergarten. Absent state resources to support this mandate, the NJSBA argued that districts should maintain the authority to offer half-day programs and to charge tuition when necessary, as is currently the case in some districts, to avoid the diversion of resources from other critical programs and services. The NJSBA also urged the committee to remain committed to fully funding the school funding formula while the Legislature continues to increase investment in preschool.
The bill’s counterpart in the Senate, S-3910, was approved by the Senate Education Committee in May.
Key Boxes for School Security A-5720 would require – by June 30, 2027 – each school district to provide for the installation of at least one exterior key box at each school building. The box would need to meet industry standards and would need to be installed at an appropriate location to permit emergency access to the building for emergency responders, including law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services personnel. The box must contain keys and other access control devices as necessary to access each building and room located on the entire school grounds. The bill includes an appropriation of $2.5 million.
As amended, the bill would allow districts to be exempt from the key box requirement upon approval of the commissioner of education if a school has already implemented an alternative and equivalent plan and procedures to provide emergency access to the school building for emergency responders. Additionally, the amended bill explicitly states that all costs associated with the installation of key boxes would be borne by the state and allows districts to apply to the commissioner for reimbursement of any costs incurred.
The NJSBA testified in support of the bill, while seeking an additional amendment that would provide a reimbursement option for schools that have already installed similar key box devices. The bill’s counterpart in the Senate, S-4440, was approved by the Senate Education Committee earlier this month.
Chronic Absenteeism Task Force A-5779/S-3776 would establish a task force to study the causes of chronic absenteeism and develop recommendations for lowering absenteeism rates. The 20-member group would include one member upon the recommendation of NJSBA and would be required to issue a final report to the governor within six months following its organization.
The NJSBA supports the bill. A since-amended version of the bill was passed by the Senate earlier this month.
Preschool Services Contracts A-5780 would exempt contracts for preschool education services provided by a licensed childcare provider or Head Start program and supported by preschool education aid from public advertising and bidding and would permit the contracts to be awarded by a resolution of the board of education. The bill would also extend the maximum allowable length of such contracts from two years to three years.
The NJSBA supports the bill. Its counterpart in the Senate, S-4476, was approved by the Senate Education Committee earlier this month
Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee
The Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee met on Thursday, June 12, and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
IEP Meeting Guidelines & Working Group A-5492/S-3982 would require certain information to be provided to a parent at least two business days prior to an annual individualized education program team meeting and would establish a working group within the NJDOE. Pursuant to the bill, at least two days prior to an IEP meeting, a school must provide a student’s parent or guardian with a written statement of items to be discussed at the meeting, including 1) the student’s current levels of academic and functional performance; 2) a list of the names of any required IEP team members who are seeking to be excused from participation in the IEP team meeting accompanied by their input into programs and services for which they are responsible and 3) an invitation for the parent or guardian to provide input and feedback on proposed services and programs. The bill would also establish an IEP Improvement Working Group to provide recommendations to the NJDOE regarding methods to improve the development and implementation of IEPs and to ensure parental involvement in the process. The working group would include two school board members.
The NJSBA supports the bill, which was passed by the Senate in March and approved by the Assembly Education Committee in May.
Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee
The Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee met on Thursday, June 12, and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
‘Farm to School’ Grant Program A-3742 would, as amended, establish a $4.5 million grant program in the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to reimburse school districts for the costs of expanding local food procurement activities. The program would provide reimbursements to school districts to allow them to implement local food procurement practices to increase the types or amounts of local foods being procured for students, the meal periods during which such local foods are served to students, or the total number or type of students being offered such local foods, during either the school year or the summer months, or both. School districts would be eligible to receive program funding based upon submission of an attestation form.
The NJSBA supports the bill. Its counterpart in the Senate, S-1637, was approved by the Senate Economic Growth Committee in December 2024.
To view the full text of any of the bills summarized above, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.
