This bill, known as the New Jersey Prison Libraries Act, creates a special fund within the Department of Corrections to support library services for incarcerated individuals. The legislation establishes a $1 million appropriation and allows the department to use these funds for hiring librarians, upgrading library infrastructure, acquiring diverse reading materials, and offering educational programs like job training and digital literacy. The bill explicitly restricts the use of these funds to library-related activities, prohibiting their use for general prison operations, medical care, or basic necessities like food and clothing.
This New Jersey bill prohibits contracts between public libraries and publishers from including clauses that restrict how libraries manage or lend electronic books and audiobooks. The legislation specifically bans provisions that limit a library's ability to make preservation copies, use interlibrary loan systems, set loan periods, or charge fees based on how many times a book is borrowed. Additionally, the bill prevents contracts from stopping libraries from sharing contract terms with other libraries or the state government, and it treats violations as unfair business practices under state consumer fraud laws.
This bill creates the New Jersey Prison Libraries Act to establish a dedicated fund within the Department of Corrections for improving library services for incarcerated individuals. The legislation appropriates $1 million to support the purchase of books, digital resources, and computers, as well as to fund programs like job training, literacy classes, and cultural events. The fund is restricted to library-related expenses and cannot be used for general prison operations, medical care, or basic needs like food and clothing.
This bill creates a non-refundable tax credit for New Jersey residents who homeschool their children or dependents, allowing eligible taxpayers to claim up to $1,000 per child for qualified educational expenses, with a maximum total credit of $3,000 per household. To qualify, the taxpayer's gross income must not exceed $150,000, and the credit applies to expenses such as textbooks, educational software, curriculum rentals, and library memberships, while excluding items like furniture, basic school supplies, and internet fees. Married couples filing separately can each claim half of the total credit amount for jointly incurred expenses, and the credit can only be applied to reduce tax liability to zero, not result in a refund. The legislation takes effect for taxable years beginning on or after January 1 following its enactment.
This bill establishes New Jersey's Elementary Home Reading Grant Program to improve reading proficiency among elementary students. It appropriates $500,000 in federal pandemic relief funds to provide grants to school districts partnering with nonprofits, requiring weekly book mailings to students' homes, multilingual parent engagement communications, and student-chosen book collections (6-9 books annually). School districts must submit competitive applications detailing how their programs meet specific criteria, including data tracking on parental engagement and reading progress. The program mandates annual data reporting to the state and requires districts to match grant funds at 100% per student.
New Jersey's S 3440 requires public schools to maintain specific ratios of certified school library media specialists based on student enrollment: half-time staff for schools under 300 students, one full-time specialist for 300-1,499 students, and two full-time specialists for 1,500+ students. Schools with 500+ students must also employ at least one full-time library clerk, plus one additional clerk for every 500 students. The bill includes limited waivers for schools unable to hire certified specialists (max two over five years) and mandates minimum daily time for specialists to perform library work in secondary schools, depending on enrollment size. It takes effect immediately for the first full school year after enactment.
This bill (A 912) requires New Jersey school boards to adopt policies preventing obscene material in school libraries. It mandates that schools establish clear criteria for library materials, prohibit obscene content, ensure all staff comply with state obscenity laws (N.J.S.2C:34-3), and create procedures to investigate staff who distribute such material to students. The Commissioner of Education must provide guidance on identifying obscene material, recommending disciplinary actions (including termination for criminal violations), and when to involve law enforcement. Noncompliant school districts risk state funding sanctions, directly affecting school boards, library staff, and students' access to library resources.
This bill requires every New Jersey public school with a library to post a complete, up-to-date list of all library resources - such as books, magazines, DVDs, and digital databases - on its public website in an easily accessible location. Schools must add any newly purchased or ordered resources to the list within 10 days. The school library media specialist is responsible for maintaining the list, or if no specialist exists, the principal must assign a staff member to handle it. The law takes immediate effect upon enactment.
This bill sets minimum staffing requirements for school library media specialists in New Jersey public schools based on student enrollment. Schools with under 300 students must employ at least a half-time specialist, those with 300-1,499 students must have one full-time specialist, and schools with 1,500+ students must have two full-time specialists. It also requires schools with 500+ students to employ library clerks (one full-time clerk plus one additional clerk per 500 students). The bill includes limited waivers for schools unable to hire certified staff, allowing up to two waivers within five years. These requirements apply starting the first full school year after enactment.
This bill requires every New Jersey public school with a library to post a comprehensive, publicly accessible online list of all library resources - including books, DVDs, periodicals, and digital databases - on its school website. Schools must add new resources to the list within 10 days of purchase. The school library media specialist (or the principal if no specialist exists) is responsible for maintaining and updating this list. The law applies directly to public school districts operating libraries and takes effect immediately.
