S 229 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Requires institutions of higher education to collect and report employment data for certain graduates.

New Jersey's S 229 requires colleges and universities to collect and publicly report detailed employment outcomes and earnings data for recent graduates, along with other key metrics like graduation rates, costs, and financial aid. Institutions must post annual, disaggregated data (by race, gender, income, and other factors) on their websites, including employment rates, average student debt, and cost projections for different student scenarios. This transparency aims to help prospective students and families compare institutions based on concrete outcomes rather than general information. The law applies to all higher education institutions in New Jersey, with reports due annually and linked directly from application pages. The Secretary of Higher Education will also compile comparative profiles to help students easily evaluate institutions.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
May 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
General Assembly Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Signed Jun 30, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill Introduced · 4 edits · Jan 13, 2026
MODERATE
The bill moved from a pre-filed technical review status to an introduced status. The substantive policy text remained unchanged; the primary modifications were procedural (removal of sponsor names, status label update) and the addition of a STATEMENT section describing the bill's purpose. The bill requires institutions of higher education to report employment outcomes and earnings data for recent graduates through the New Jersey Statewide Data System.
TECHNICAL

Bill designation changed from 'S229 TR' (Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill) to 'S229' (Introduced), reflecting a procedural status change rather than a policy change.

Sponsor and co-sponsor information was removed, including Assemblywoman Linda S. Carter (District 22), Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (District 15), Senator McKnight, and Assemblywomen Speight, Morales, and Brennan.

Status line changed from 'As reported by the Senate Higher Education Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.'

A STATEMENT section was added at the end of the bill, summarizing that institutions of higher education must include employment outcomes and earnings data for graduates of the three most recent academic years in their consumer information reports under P.L.2009, c.197.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
8
Key actions
3
Committee
2
May 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed Assembly (Passed Both Houses) (75-2-0)
lower
May 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading
lower
Mar 23, 2026
Committee
Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee
lower
Mar 23, 2026
Upper · Passed
Passed by the Senate (38-0)
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee
upper
3 primary · 4 co-sponsors

Sponsors