This bill requires the New Jersey Board of Nursing to create a Nursing Scribe Program in partnership with approved nursing schools. Under the program, nursing students can earn academic credit by completing a course that teaches electronic medical records documentation, medical terminology, HIPAA compliance, and medical billing and coding. Students must also complete supervised practicum hours providing documentation assistance to licensed nurses during patient encounters. The bill defines nurse scribe services as documentation support that stays within the scope of a nurse's professional licensure.
This bill creates a 90-day tax amnesty period in New Jersey that must end by January 15, 2027, allowing taxpayers to pay overdue state taxes from returns due between September 1, 2017, and January 1, 2026. Participants would pay the full tax amount plus half of the accrued interest while avoiding late filing penalties, late payment penalties, and other collection fees, though civil fraud and criminal penalties still apply. Money collected during this amnesty period will be directed to a special Stabilization Aid Account for school districts, and the bill also appropriates up to $15 million for related purposes.
This bill requires all school districts and nonpublic schools in New Jersey to create emergency operations plans that cover various potential emergencies, including natural disasters, fires, and pandemics. These plans must be coordinated with state and local emergency responders and include procedures for maintaining essential school functions during crises. Additionally, the bill mandates that school districts teach students from kindergarten through 12th grade about environmental and natural disasters as part of their science, health, and social studies curricula. The emergency plans must be reviewed and updated every five years or sooner if an emergency occurs, and the instruction on disasters must help students understand school emergency policies and how to prepare for emergencies.
This bill requires colleges and universities in New Jersey that partner with online program managers to publicly disclose specific details about their online degree and certificate programs. The law mandates that these institutions post information on their websites, including the name of the online program manager, admission requirements, tuition costs for online versus on-campus programs, and financial aid details such as availability, average amounts, and the percentage of students receiving aid. This transparency measure directly affects students and families seeking higher education by providing clearer information about the programs and costs associated with online learning options.
This bill directs New Jersey's Higher Education Student Assistance Authority to raise the income protection allowance for independent adult students applying for the Tuition Aid Grant Program. The change aligns the state's calculation method with the federal standard used for Pell Grants, allowing more of a student's income to be disregarded when determining financial eligibility. Independent adult students will benefit from potentially higher aid eligibility as the state formula becomes more generous. The law takes effect immediately and applies to grants awarded in the first academic year after enactment.
This bill directs $3 million in annual funding from the Social Equity Excise Fee, a tax on cannabis sales, to support Freedom Schools across New Jersey. The money will be allocated to the Department of State to provide financial assistance for these programs, which offer academic summer classes and year-round tutoring and homework help to K-12 students and their families. The legislation overrides previous funding restrictions to ensure this specific revenue stream is used for this purpose. The act takes effect immediately upon passage.
This bill creates a pilot program to study how New Jersey school districts could combine existing high schools with local elementary and middle schools to form unified K-12 regional districts. It authorizes the State Department of Education to select three pilot sites across the state and provides $150,000 in funding to support feasibility studies and planning grants for participating districts. If the pilot shows success, the bill outlines a process requiring voter approval in each municipality before implementation, along with state financial incentives to help cover initial costs. The program includes a five-year implementation phase and an independent evaluation component to assess impacts on student achievement, finances, and community satisfaction.
This bill requires New Jersey colleges and universities to gather and report specific data about undergraduate students who are parents or legal guardians of children under 18. Under the legislation, institutions must submit an annual report to the Secretary of Higher Education by July 1 each year, detailing the number of student parents enrolled in both full-time and part-time programs broken down by demographic groups, along with their academic outcomes such as transfer, withdrawal, and graduation rates. The reports must be made publicly available on each institution's website, and the state secretary will compile a statewide summary of this data for public access. All collected information must remain confidential and comply with privacy laws, ensuring no personal identifying details are disclosed.
This bill allows New Jersey school boards to offer chess instruction to students in grades two through eight who are enrolled in gifted and talented or special education programs. The legislation amends existing state law to authorize these educational opportunities while permitting the Department of Education to create guidelines for implementation. The bill does not mandate chess programs but rather provides schools with the option to include chess as part of their curriculum for specific student populations.
This bill requires middle and high school districts in New Jersey to create food services advisory committees that recommend menu options reflecting students' cultural, traditional, and dietary preferences. The committees will include students, parents, school staff, and food service employees, and must meet at least three times per year to review menu options while considering nutritional standards and budget constraints. Districts must survey students to identify unmet food preferences, and if students request vegetarian or vegan options, schools must make reasonable efforts to include them in their meal programs.
