In the week leading up to Gov. Phil Murphy’s fiscal year 2026 budget address, several committees met at the State House and advanced legislation relevant to schools and boards of education in New Jersey. Those bills follow below.
Temporary Relief for Posting Public Notices S-4136/A-5343 was approved by both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday, Feb. 20, and subsequently passed by the full Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The bill would amend previous legislation (S-3957/A-5151, P.L.2024, c.106) by extending the date through which a newspaper is eligible to be used by a public body in 2024 for the purpose of complying with the Open Public Meetings Act or other public notice or legal advertisement requirement, including for providing adequate notice of a meeting, and being designated as an official newspaper, is deemed eligible for the same purposes regardless of the physical or digital format for the newspaper’s publication. The date would move from March 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025. The bill would also require a newspaper or online news publication that provides public notice or legal advertising services to a public body for the purposes of the public body complying with public notice and legal advertisement requirements to submit certain subscription data to the governor and the Office of Public Information in the Office of Legislative Services for distribution to the membership of the Legislative Services Commission.
In testimony provided to both committees, the New Jersey School Boards Association expressed support for the bill and recommended that, as it considers a long-term solution, the Legislature consider allowing boards of education and other local government bodies to post public notices on their own websites. The bill is scheduled for a vote by the full Assembly on Thursday, Feb. 27. If passed, it would then head to the governor for signature.
Heat Stress/Illness A-5022 was approved by the Assembly Labor Committee on Thursday, Feb. 20. The bill would establish an occupational heat stress standard and “Occupational Heat-Related Illness and Injury Prevention Program” in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The bill would require the commissioner of the DOLWD to establish by rule a standard containing heat stress levels for employers that, if exceeded, trigger actions by employers to protect employees from heat-related illness and injury. The bill includes a requirement that each employer develop, implement, and maintain an effective heat-related illness and injury prevention plan for employees within 30 days of the effective date of the act. The plan must include:
- Monitoring for employee exposure to heat to determine whether an employee’s exposure has been excessive.
- Providing potable water, available immediately and in immediate proximity to impacted employees with a temperature that is either cool (i.e., between 66 and 77 degrees) or cold (i.e., between 35 and 65 degrees).
- Providing paid rest breaks and access to shade, cool-down areas or climate-controlled spaces.
- Providing an emergency response for any employee who has suffered an injury as a result of being exposed to excessive heat.
- Limiting the length of time an employee may be exposed to heat during the workday.
- Postponing tasks that are nonessential until the excessive heat condition subsides.
- Preventing heat-related hazards.
- Coordinating risk assessment efforts, plan development and implementation with other employers who have employees who work at the same work site.
- Allowing employees to contact the employer directly and efficiently to communicate if the employee feels like the employee is suffering from a heat-related illness.
The commissioner of the DOLWD may issue a stop-work order against the employer, requiring cessation of all business operations of the employer at one or more worksites or across all of the employer’s worksites and places of business if the commissioner determines, after either an initial determination as a result of an audit of a business or an investigation pursuant to the bill, that an employer is in violation of the bill’s provisions. The bill also exempts amusement parks and certain operations that are directly involved in the protection of life or property, and it addresses its application to collective bargaining agreements, but schools and school employees are not exempted. Finally, the bill imposes monetary and other penalties for violations of its provisions.
The NJSBA opposes A-5022 because it is overbroad in scope imposing a “one-size-fits-all” solution to a problem that affects district employees differently depending on their districts and their job responsibilities. The NJSBA testified that the bill harms local control and interferes with collective bargaining. Additionally, the NJSBA shared its concerns that the bill contains hidden costs that exacerbate the current staffing and facilities challenges of local districts. The Association has joined a coalition of organizations representing both private and public employers in opposing the legislation. The bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for consideration.
Anti-Privatization Initiative A-919 was approved by the Assembly Labor Committee on Thursday, Feb. 20. The bill would establish various procedures and standards regarding the privatization of public services contracts, including those entered into by local boards of education. Among other provisions, the bill would:
- Allow union representatives of public employees to review privatization proposals prior to the solicitation of bids.
- Require private contractors to pay wages and benefits to their employees that are equal to or exceed wages and benefits paid to their public sector counterparts.
- Require contractors to hire public employees who are displaced from their employment due to the privatization of services.
- Grant the state comptroller authority to review and void any privatization agreement that will not achieve cost savings or does not comply with any other requirements under the bill.
The NJSBA opposes the bill. In testimony before the committee, the Association argued that this bill would impose costly and burdensome requirements on school districts seeking to get the most efficient use of their finite resources. If enacted, it would effectively eliminate the ability of boards of education, and other public entities, to save taxpayer money through privatization, potentially resulting in the need to cut critical programs, services and staff. The NJSBA further argued that a 2020 law (P.L.2020, c.79) already establishes various requirements boards of education must follow before entering into subcontracting agreements, while including several protections for district employees, thus making this legislation unnecessary. In addition to verbal testimony, the NJSBA also submitted a written statement.
Instruction on Compulsive Gambling S-3666 was approved by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The bill would require each school district that includes any high school grades to incorporate instruction on “the potential risks of compulsive gambling” into the curriculum as part of the district’s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. The New Jersey Department of Education would be required to provide sample learning activities, resources and a training module for high school teachers.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill. The Association successfully sought an amendment from the sponsor that would adjust the bill’s effective date. As introduced, the bill would go into effect in the school year following the next review and update of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards by the New Jersey State Board of Education. The NJSBA advocated to amend that language, so that the bill would go into effect in the first full year following both that update and NJDOE’s development of the training module, so that teachers have enough time to be trained prior to beginning instruction.
No-Fee Option for School Lunch Payments S-3961 was passed by the full Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The bill would require boards of education to offer a no-fee option to parents and guardians for making school lunch and other types of payments. The no-fee option would need to be provided at a time and place convenient for student, parent and guardian use. The bill would also require any payment processing platform used by a school district to provide users with certain information on user fees and would require any school-based communications requesting payment for school meals, field trips, activity fees or other goods or services to include information on the fees associated with use of a payment processing platform that may be used to make the payment.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill, which has not yet moved in the Assembly.
Dehmer Confirmed as Commissioner
Finally, on Tuesday, Feb. 25, the full Senate confirmed the nomination of Kevin Dehmer for commissioner of education. Dehmer has been acting commissioner of the Department of Education since January 2024 following over a decade at the department.
Dr. Timothy J. Purnell, executive director and CEO of the NJSBA, welcomed the news of the confirmation, stating, “I want to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Dehmer on his confirmation as our state’s education commissioner. He brings a wealth of experience to the job, having spent more than 15 years at the New Jersey Department of Education, where he’s demonstrated a deep commitment to our schools and students.” He added, “We look forward to collaborating with him to ensure all students have access to a high-quality education.”
