Several committees met at the State House this week to advance legislation during the lame duck period. The New Jersey School Boards Association will continue to monitor all legislation affecting schools and post weekly Legislative Updates in School Board Notes. For the most up-to-date information regarding specific legislation, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.

Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee met on Monday, Dec. 15, and approved the following bills relevant to boards of education:

Key Boxes for School Security S-4440 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, subject to the availability of funds appropriated in the annual state appropriations act. The box must meet industry standards and be installed at an appropriate location to ensure emergency responders, including law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services personnel, can access the building. The box must contain keys and other access-control devices, as necessary, to access each building and room on the entire school grounds.

As amended, the bill would allow districts to be exempt from the key box requirement upon approval by the commissioner of education if a school has already implemented an alternative and equivalent plan and procedures to provide emergency responders with access to the school building. Additionally, the amended bill explicitly states that all costs associated with installing key boxes would be borne by the state and allows districts to apply to the commissioner for reimbursement of any costs incurred.

The NJSBA supports the bill and provided testimony at a prior committee hearing. The bill’s counterpart in the Assembly, A-5720, was approved by the Assembly Education Committee in June.

Regulating Hemp Products S-4509 would establish a new regulatory scheme for the sale of certain hemp products by amending the “New Jersey Hemp Farming Act” to bring New Jersey into compliance with federal law (Pub. L. 119-37), which takes effect in November 2026. Among its many provisions, the bill would make it unlawful to sell any product with any amount of detectable THC to a person under the age of 21. The changes to the bill would make it more difficult for students to purchase and bring these products into school buildings.

The NJSBA supports the bill, which has not yet been introduced in the Assembly.

Retired Teachers in Nonpublic Grant Program S-4678 would amend the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teacher (STEM) grant program established through P.L.2019, c.256 (C.18A:6-137 et seq.) to include retired teachers and faculty members of county colleges under the program. The bill also authorizes the inclusion of active or retired teachers who may teach other STEM subjects or areas, and the direct payment of grant funds to the eligible teacher. Under the existing program, participating nonpublic schools form partnerships with eligible teachers and school districts, in which an eligible teacher employed by the district teaches STEM classes at the nonpublic school. The Commissioner of Education awards grants to participating school districts to compensate participating teachers.

The NJSBA is monitoring the bill after successfully advocating for an amendment that would eliminate the requirement that districts notify previously employed, now-retired teachers about the grant program. The bill’s counterpart in the Assembly, A-5930, was approved by the Assembly Education Committee on Dec. 4.

Senate Higher Education Committee

The Senate Higher Education Committee met on Monday, Dec. 15, and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:

Seniority Service Credit for Educational Support Professionals A-4941/S-4428 would allow every educational support professional who has served in the active military of the United States and is declared by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to be eligible for federal veterans’ benefits, to receive equivalent years of employment or seniority credit, up to four years, for that service as if the professional had been employed for the same period of time at the school district. Any military service would be credited towards this employment or seniority credit, including service that occurred before the professional’s employment as an educational support professional. Current law provides that a teaching staff member may receive up to four years of credit, in computing length of service for seniority purposes, for military service. This bill would provide a similar benefit to educational support professionals.

The NJSBA is monitoring the bill, which the Assembly passed earlier this month.

Assembly State and Local Government Committee

The Assembly State and Local Government Committee met on Monday, Dec. 15, and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:

Leasing School Property to FQHCs A-4381/S-3156 would permit boards of education to lease school property to federally qualified health centers without bidding. The bill adds federally qualified health centers to the list of entities to which a local board of education may lease school buildings and property that are no longer necessary for school purposes, for a nominal fee, without following the competitive bidding process. Other entities already on the list include federal, state, and local governmental units, volunteer fire companies and rescue squads, and veterans and senior citizens organizations. In the case of joint occupancy with a public school and a federally qualified health center, the bill would require the federally qualified health center to be located in a separate and distinct portion of the school building from where students are present.

The NJSBA supports the bill, which was passed by the Senate in May 2024 and approved by the Assembly Education Committee in September 2024.

To view the full text of any of the bills summarized above, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.