On Saturday, Oct. 3, the New Jersey School Board Association hosted its first Legislative Committee meeting of the 2026-2027 year. The committee welcomed Diana Pasculli, Deputy Chief of Staff at the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), as its guest speaker.

Charles Caraballo, NJSBA’s Vice President of Legislation/Resolutions, opened the meeting by greeting committee members and other attendees. NJSBA Executive Director/CEO Dr. Timothy Purnell and NJSBA President Michael Jacobs welcomed new and returning committee members and highlighted the importance of statewide advocacy efforts. The committee also approved the minutes from its May 30, 2026 meeting.

Charles Caraballo (NJSBA Vice President of Legislation/Resolutions), Dr. Timothy Purnell (NJSBA Executive Director/CEO), and Michael Jacobs (NJSBA President).

Vice President Caraballo then introduced guest speaker Diana Pasculli. Pasculli is the deputy chief of staff at NJDOE and currently leads stakeholder engagement for the School Funding Outreach Project. Over the course of her 14 years at NJDOE, she has been involved in school funding, educator workforce initiatives, assessment and accountability, strategic communications, community engagement, legislative affairs, and other statewide education policy initiatives. Prior to joining the Department, she taught in the Bronx, New York, and Newark, New Jersey, and earned her law degree at Rutgers Law School. Pasculli is also currently a member of the Lawrence Township Board of Education.

Pasculli was joined by NJDOE’s Superintendent in Residence Dr. Jorden Schiff. Together, they spent the first portion of the meeting providing an overview and building a shared sense of understanding of the state of school funding in New Jersey. They then led a roundtable discussion with members of the Legislative Committee to discuss ways in which the current method of school funding could be improved for all districts across the state.

Jonathan Pushman (NJSBA Senior Director of Advocacy) and Diana Pasculli (NJDOE Deputy Chief of Staff).

The conversation was part of NJDOE’s Statewide School Funding Outreach project. The Department’s goal is to engage educators, families, policymakers, community leaders, and advocacy organizations to gather feedback and foster meaningful dialogue on the future of school funding in New Jersey. As part of this effort, NJDOE is hosting regional forums where stakeholders can provide feedback and plans to facilitate community roundtables in the coming months to gain more specific local perspectives. To learn more about NJDOE’s outreach and to sign up for its project newsletter, please visit NJDOE’s Statewide School Funding Outreach website.

Governmental Relations Update

NJSBA governmental relations staff – including Jonathan Pushman, senior director of advocacy, Jesse Young director of governmental relations, John Burns senior legislative and policy counsel, and Harrison Silver legislative advocate – dedicated the remainder of the meeting to updates on state health benefits, NJSBA’s federal advocacy work, and a rundown of newly enacted laws and pending legislation of interest to school districts. Notable updates included:

  • Recent news on the School Employees’ Health Benefits Program (SEHBP): including a Sept. 25 vote by the School Employees’ Health Benefits Commission (SEHBC) to approve 34.4% premium increases for Plan Year 2027; an announcement from the Department of the Treasury on Sept. 29 that SEHBP Open Enrollment would be postponed to Oct. 26 through Oct. 31; and an announcement from Gov. Sherrill on Oct. 1 that she will be convening a State Health Benefits Plan Reform Working Group to develop recommendations for improving affordability and long-term sustainability of public employee health benefits (NJSBA will have a representative on the Working Group);
  • NJSBA’s federal advocacy work: recent meetings between NJSBA and offices from New Jersey’s congressional delegation, highlighting several of the Association’s federal advocacy priorities: 1) fully funding IDEA, 2) reviewing how the recently enacted “Education Freedom Tax Credit” may affect public education in New Jersey, 3) protecting E-Rate, 4) universal school meals, and 5) maintaining Title I funding in the FY27 federal budget;
  • Highlights of several new laws since the committee’s last meeting: the FY2027 state appropriations act; the “SPARK” mental health program; and the New Jersey Kids Code Act; and
  • Bills currently moving through the State Legislature that are relevant to boards of education.

The next Legislative Committee meeting will take place on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2026.