This bill creates the School-Based Partnerships for Access and Resilience for Kids program within the Department of Children and Families to support student mental health. It requires school districts, charter schools, and renaissance schools to develop specific mental health support programs that connect students with high behavioral health needs to the new SPARK program navigator. The SPARK program, operated by the New Jersey Pediatric Psychiatry Collaborative, will provide same-day psychiatric consultations, referrals to community providers, and assistance with school re-entry after a mental health crisis. Access to these services is limited to students in kindergarten through grade 12 and requires written consent from a parent or legal guardian. Additionally, the bill mandates that schools have designated staff or formal agreements with external providers to ensure ongoing counseling support for their students.
This bill allows school districts in New Jersey to use leftover state funding for nonpublic school nursing services to pay for security services, and vice versa. Currently, districts must return any unused money from these specific programs to the state after the school year ends. The change permits districts to apply unspent funds from one program toward the costs of the other before a refund is required. This adjustment provides districts with more flexibility in managing state aid allocated for student safety and health care in private schools.
This bill provides educational support professionals (non-teaching school staff) with up to four years of seniority credit for active military service they completed, including service before starting their school job. To qualify, a professional must be declared eligible for federal veterans' benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The credit counts as if the professional were employed full-time during their military service, directly affecting their seniority calculations for school district benefits and job protections. The bill aligns seniority treatment for these staff with existing provisions for teaching staff.
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.
This New Jersey bill (S 2962) gives educational support professionals (like cafeteria workers, bus drivers, and administrative staff) who served in the U.S. military and qualify for VA benefits up to four years of seniority credit. The credit counts military service completed before or during their school district employment, treating it as equivalent to actual work time for seniority purposes. It expands an existing benefit currently only available to teaching staff. The policy takes effect immediately upon enactment.
This bill, known as the "Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act," aims to stop harassment and bullying in nonpublic schools by requiring these institutions to create and share clear anti-bullying policies. It defines bullying to include cyberbullying and covers incidents that happen on school grounds, during school events, or online if they threaten a student's safety or well-being. Under the new rules, schools must investigate any reported incidents within five days, document their findings, and take immediate steps to protect victims, while staff members are required to report witnessed or heard bullying promptly. The legislation also ensures that anyone who reports bullying in good faith is kept safe and clarifies that these protections do not limit rights to free speech or religious expression.
This bill creates a three-year pilot program in large New Jersey counties to allow nonpublic schools to receive nursing services through a new county-wide consortium. Under the plan, school districts would transfer existing state funding for nonpublic nursing aid to this consortium, which would then contract with providers to deliver care to students at participating private schools. The legislation establishes specific rules for schools to join the program, requires independent annual audits of the consortium's performance, and mandates a review after two years to determine if the pilot should be expanded statewide.
This bill requires the New Jersey Commissioner of Education to provide school districts with two key notices annually: a preliminary notice of the minimum state aid amount due for the next school year (by the end of the first week in December, starting 2026) and a maximum aid notice within two days of the Governor's budget message. It mandates the creation of a New Jersey Education Funding Portal to centralize these notices, along with district-specific adequacy budgets and projected local funding rates. The bill also modifies how state aid is calculated, requiring the use of budget year pupil counts with adjustments for actual counts in the following school year. These changes directly affect all New Jersey public school districts by improving the transparency and timing of funding information for budget planning.
This bill allows public high school students observing Ramadan to substitute required physical education classes with an instructional course or study hall during the marking period containing Ramadan. Students must provide written notice to their principal before schedule creation, and the substitute must award the same graduation credits as physical education. It also permits student-athletes to be excused from sports, intramural, or cheerleading programs during Ramadan by submitting written notice to their coach, with coaches prohibited from penalizing such absences. The bill takes effect immediately for the first full academic year after enactment.
This bill requires New Jersey school districts to implement stricter monthly financial checks and reporting to maintain fiscal stability. It mandates that administrators reconcile bank accounts and verify that payroll spending matches approved staffing levels and budgets. School business administrators must certify the accuracy of these reports, while secretaries must provide detailed financial summaries to the board of education each month. The legislation also establishes a process for documenting and resolving any discrepancies found during these reviews.
