The Resolutions Subcommittee met virtually on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, via Zoom Workplace, to review the resolutions that will come before the Semiannual Delegate Assembly on Nov. 22, 2025.
The Association received five (5) resolutions on or before the official cutoff date of Oct. 3, for the Annual Delegate Assembly. One of the resolutions from the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional Board of Education was not properly formatted and was promptly returned to the sponsor with a detailed explanation of the deficiencies. Accordingly, four resolutions were forwarded to the Resolution Subcommittee for action. Of these, three resolutions were adopted by the Resolution Subcommittee and forwarded to the Delegate Assembly for consideration, while one resolution was removed from the agenda pursuant to Art. V §5(f) and (e). The actions taken are as follows:
- R01 – Delran Bd. of Educ. – Criminal History Review: ADOPTED
- R02 – Clifton Bd. of Educ. – Special Education Funding: REMOVED FROM AGENDA
- R03 – Clifton Bd. of Educ. – Universal Free School Meals: ADOPTED
- R04 – Bridgewater-Raritan – STEM: ADOPTED
- R05 – Bridgewater-Raritan – Nonpartisan Schools: NOT ACCEPTED FOR FILING
It should be noted that Lucy Li, of the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional Board of Education, appeared before the Committee to advocate in favor of Bridgewater-Raritan’s STEM resolution.
Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, action taken by the Resolutions Subcommittee may be overridden by the delegates in attendance at the Delegate Assembly upon prior notice, a motion, and simple majority vote. The motion to override must state specifically the remedy sought by the moving party. The motion to override shall not be subject to debate except that both the maker of the motion and the chair of the Resolutions subcommittee shall be given three minutes to address the delegates concerning the motion.
Enclosed are the resolutions admitted to the Semiannual Delegate Assembly agenda by the Resolutions Subcommittee.
Enclosures: Summaries of Resolutions R01-R04
RESOLUTION NO. 1
SYNOPSIS
Resolution No. 1 from the Delran Board of Education, (Burlington), proposed new policy language for adoption by the Delegate Assembly, and for inclusion in the NJSBA’s Manual of Positions and Policies on Education (P&P). The resolution proposed to add the belief that when board members and charter school trustees seek to demonstrate evidence of rehabilitation upon a finding of a disqualifying criminal offense before the Commissioner of Education, in assessing such evidence, the Commissioner should consider the date the offense was committed.
STATEMENT OF REASONS
1. The resolution submitted by Delran seeks to limit the period of time for which a board member or charter school trustee’s criminal history record can be reviewed for conviction of a disqualifying criminal offense and seeks to consider the nature of the crime committed in disqualifying a member from service due to a conviction(s).
2. The existing language in File Code 9111 was adopted on Nov.19, 2011, in direct response to a resolution from the City of Burlington Board of Education, which sought to introduce evidence of rehabilitation in determining disqualification.
3. Including additional language in File Code 9111 regarding the period of time for which a board member or charter school trustee’s criminal history can be reviewed, like the existing language regarding rehabilitation, does not weaken the intent to keep students and staff safe, and is consistent with the existing language in File Code 5141. This is especially pertinent since board members and charter trustees do not regularly come into contact with students, as is required pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.1.
4. However, including additional language in File Code 9111 regarding the “nature of the crime committed” does not effectively advocate for a change in law or policy.
RECOMMENDATION
The Resolutions Subcommittee recommends approval of the following substitute language to be added to File Code 9111:
The NJSBA believes that board members and charter school trustee members should have the opportunity to demonstrate affirmatively to the Commissioner of Education evidence of rehabilitation upon the finding of a criminal offense that would disqualify them from membership, and consideration shall be given to the date of the offense. [Authority: DA 11/11-1, DA 5/13-SR, DA 5/18-SR, DA 5/23- SR]
RESOLUTION NO. 2
SYNOPSIS
Resolution No. 2 from the Clifton Board of Education (Passaic County) proposed additional policy language supporting its belief that the state should provide more funding that covers the cost of providing special education because the current level of funding strains district budgets.
STATEMENT OF REASONS
- The Clifton Board of Education brought forward important concerns about special education: underfunding of aid categories as well as concerns over private schools for the disabled.
- These important concerns are either a restatement of existing NJSBA policy or are already addressed through current regulation, rendering additional policy moot.
RECOMMENDATION
The Resolutions Subcommittee, pursuant to Article V Sect. 5(e) and (f) of Association Bylaws, removed R02 from the Delegate Assembly agenda as the resolution constitutes a reaffirmation of existing Association policy and seeks to address a matter which is moot.
RESOLUTON NO. 3
SYNOPSIS
Resolution No. 3 from the Clifton Public School District Board of Education proposed new policy language supporting the belief that there should be universal free school meals for all Pre-K through 12 students in New Jersey.
STATEMENT OF REASONS
- Current NJSBA policy professes a believes that a school lunch program should be offered to all students and that federal food programs should be funded at adequate levels of financial support. However, the current belief statement does not explicitly support free school meals for all students.
- NJSBA’s current Advocacy Agenda supports universal free school meals that would be fully funded by the state and/or federal government.
- Accordingly, the below amendments to current P&P language are proposed for to ensure consistency with NJSBA’s advocacy efforts.
RECOMMENDATION
The Resolutions Subcommittee recommends approval of the proposed resolution with the following substitute language that would amend current policy language to be included in NJSBA’s Manual of Positions and Policies in File Code 3542:
The NJSBA believes that a free school meal program should be offered to all students at the expense of the state and/or federal government.
RESOLUTON NO. 4
SYNOPSIS
Resolution No. 4 from the Bridgewater-Raritan School District proposed new policy language supporting the belief that Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education should be more fully integrated into aspects of pre-K through 12 curricula for all New Jersey students.
STATEMENT OF REASONS
- In the elementary and middle school setting, Science/STEM instruction generally receives significantly less instructional time compared to Math and Language Arts with a notable amount of variation across districts as cited in a report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
- The discrepancy in the allocation of instructional time for Science/STEM is consistent with national trends where Science/STEM receives less focus, particularly in the early elementary grades as cited in the TIMSS 2019 International Results in Mathematics and Science – Instructional Time report.
- In elementary schools, subjects like Science and Social Studies are consistently marginalized in terms of instructional time in favor of the more frequently tested subjects of Reading (Language Arts) and Math as cited in the 2012 paper, What Is the Impact of Decline in Science Instructional Time in Elementary School?.
RECOMMENDATION
NJSBA therefore recommends adoption of the proposed resolution with the following substitute language:
NJSBA believes that local boards of education should dedicate an equitable amount of instructional time to science education in elementary and middle schools relative to the amount of instructional time allocated to other subject areas.
