-Jennie Lamon, NJPSA Assistant Director of Government Relations
This week in Trenton, the Governor signed SJR-76/AJR-101 into law, designating “PSRPs in Our Schools Day” to recognize school paraprofessionals and related personnel. The Senate passed S-1253 to establish a pilot program using therapy dogs in elementary schools, and the Senate Education Committee heard testimony on chronic absenteeism and considered several bills. These bills include S-3917 on school funding, S-315 permitting school bus drivers to administer epinephrine, S-1659 mandating instruction on menstrual toxic shock syndrome, and others addressing cursive handwriting, scholarships, school payments, and teacher appreciation.
Action by the Governor
SJR-76/AJR-101 was signed into law on January 30, 2025 and is now P.L.2025, JR-1. This joint resolution designates the second Friday in December of each year as “PSRPs in Our Schools Day” in New Jersey to recognize the contributions of paraprofessionals and school-related personnel (PSRPs). Under the resolution, the Governor and the Legislature call upon the State’s citizens to participate in the observance of this day.
PSRPs provide valuable services within the State’s schools, including: one-on-one or small-group tutoring for students; assisting with classroom management; acting as translators; providing instructional support; supervising students during non-instructional times; preparing and serving nutritious meals; maintaining a clean, safe, and attractive learning environment; and assisting in the transportation of students to and from school.
Action by the State Senate
S-1253 establishes a three-year pilot program to assess the academic and health benefits associated with the use of therapy dogs in public elementary school wellness programs. Under the bill, a school district that wants to participate in the pilot program is required to submit an application to the commissioner. The application is required to include: the number of elementary schools in the school district; the number of students enrolled in each elementary school; information on student participation in wellness programs at each elementary school; and information on how the school district plans to use therapy dogs to promote student wellness.
The commissioner is to select two districts in each of the southern, central, and northern regions of the State to participate in the program and is to seek a cross section of school districts from urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State.
The commissioner is to provide pilot districts with guidance regarding the use of therapy dogs in schools including: examples of activities that students may engage in with a therapy dog; recommended training requirements for therapy dog handlers; recommended measures to evaluate the health and appropriate behavior of therapy dogs; and insurance issues relevant to having therapy dogs on school district property.
No later than June 30 of the third school year following the establishment of the pilot program, the commissioner is to submit to the Governor and to the Legislature a report that evaluates the effectiveness of the pilot program in improving the academic performance and health outcomes of students in elementary schools.
On January 30, 2025, the Senate unanimously passed this bill by a vote of (37-0). The bill has now been referred to the Assembly Aging and Human Services Committee, where it awaits a hearing.
Action by the Senate Education Committee
The Senate Education Committee began their hearing on January 30th by receiving testimony from invited guests regarding chronic absenteeism in New Jersey schools. Among those invited to speak to the Committee was NJPSA member Jennifer Marinello, proud principal of Lalor Elementary School in the Hamilton Township School district. Marinello shared how her use of data-driven approaches, community partnerships, and proactive supports have helped to address absenteeism.She discussed the strategies she uses, including monitoring attendance data, family outreach, fostering a sense of belonging, and partnerships with community organizations.Marinello highlighted the importance of recognizing and celebrating attendance as another key strategy. Marinello’s school has achieved a 15% decrease in chronic absenteeism over the past year. Marinello also advocated for state-level support to expand funding for mental health services and resources to address absenteeism holistically.
After months of conversations on school funding issues, the Senate Education Committee considered a significantly watered-down version of S-3917 (Gopal) which NJPSA had supported in December 2024. The amended bill removed significant provisions that NJPSA had supported including provisions that would have:
- Addressed the volatility of state aid by including alternate approaches to the calculation of local fair share requirements;
- Provided increased, phased-in funding for extraordinary special education costs;
- Provided mechanisms to update the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA) through a more transparent Education Adequacy Review process every three years; and
- Provided more flexibility in the current two percent tax levy cap for certain school districts removing a major barrier that limits those districts from increasing local spending to reach their adequacy budgets ( the amount needed to provide a thorough and efficient education).
As amended, S-3917 no longer includes all of these provisions but the bill does move the needle forward in several areas that should assist local districts. As a result, NJPSA supported the amended bill and pushed for additional changes to address the issues raised above. Specifically, NJPSA noted and supported these positive provisions in S-3917:
1. The bill incorporates related legislation creating a Special Education Review Taskforce to address one of the major funding challenges faced by all school districts. NJPSA supports an in-depth review of our current census-based funding approach for special education, as well as an in-depth comparison between our current funding system and one based upon specific tiered disability categories and the level and type of services provided. S-3917 provides the mechanism to do just that.
2. The amendments continue to include diverse stakeholder involvement in the development and updating of the Education Adequacy Report (EAR) and more transparency in the process. Issues such as considering the use of five year averages for income and property value will potentially be studied in this process along with other issues that were directly contained in the earlier version of the bill.
3. The bill contains provisions supporting the vocational-technical school expansion by recognizing enrollment growth in those schools.
The most important provision in our view is contained in the paragraph which limits a district’s state aid loss to two percent of its prebudget year’s total operating budget. This provision is critically important, particularly since the bill is no longer directly addressing formula volatility in the valuation calculations for local fair share. In order to ensure that this provision is most effective for the largest number of districts, NJPSA recommended that additional language be considered to limit a district’s losses to two percent of the prior year’s total operating budget or two percent of the prebudget year’s state aid amount, whichever is more beneficial to the district. Our reasoning is that larger districts with multi-million dollar budgets could still face deep losses due to the large size of their total operating budget, whereas losses in smaller districts may have a greater proportionate impact. We asked for a data run to determine the impact of this provision before the bill is heard in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, its next stop in the process. the numbers so everyone can understand the benefits of this section of the legislation.
The legislation was favorably released by the committee on January 30th by a (3-2) vote. The bill has been second referenced to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
S-315 requires the policy of a board of education or a nonpublic school for the emergency administration of epinephrine to a student will permit a school bus driver to administer epinephrine to a student when:
(1) the student’s parent or guardian has provided written authorization for a school bus driver to administer epinephrine to the student in an emergency;
(2) the student’s parent or guardian has provided to the board of education or chief school administrator of a nonpublic school written orders from a physician or advanced practice nurse that the student requires the administration of epinephrine for anaphylaxis;
(3) the board or chief school administrator of a nonpublic school informs the student’s parents or guardians in writing that the district and its employees or agents or the nonpublic school and its employees or agents, the school bus driver, and school bus contractor will have no liability as a result of any injury arising from the administration of the epinephrine via a pre-filled auto-injector mechanism;
(4) the student’s parents or guardians sign a statement acknowledging their understanding that the district or the nonpublic school, the school bus driver, and school bus contractor will have no liability as a result of any injury arising from the administration of the epinephrine via a pre-filled auto-injector mechanism to the student and that the parents or guardians will indemnify and hold harmless the district and its employees or agents or the nonpublic school and its employees or agents, the school bus driver, and school bus contractor against any claims arising out of the administration of the epinephrine via a pre-filled auto-injector mechanism;
(5) the school bus driver has been properly trained in the administration of epinephrine via a pre-filled auto-injector mechanism using standardized training protocols established pursuant to current law. The training will be conducted by an entity or individual approved by the Department of Health.
This bill was advanced unanimously by the Senate Education Committee, and is now in Second Reading in the Senate. NJPSA Supports this bill.
S-1659 would require each school district to incorporate instruction on menstrual toxic shock syndrome in grades four through 12 as part of the district’s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. The bill directs the Commissioner of Education to provide school districts with age-appropriate sample learning activities and resources designed to implement this requirement.
This bill would also require the owner of a group A or M occupancy, that maintains a public restroom available for use by women, to ensure the installation and maintenance of a sign in the restroom alerting women to the warning signs, causes, and dangers of menstrual toxic shock syndrome. This requirement would only apply to restrooms that include two or more toilets.
This bill was introduced for a young New Jersey woman who tragically passed away on March 30, 2017, just days after contracting menstrual toxic shock syndrome.
NJPSA testified in opposition, as we consistently do, to a new curriculum mandate coming from the Legislature and being put into statute, maintaining that our Standards process is the proper procedure for development of curricula.
Despite the concerned testimony from the field, the bill was unanimously advanced by the Committee. The bill has now been second-referenced to the Senate Budget Committee. NJPSA remains concerned about this bill.
S-1783 would require a school district to incorporate instruction on cursive handwriting into the curriculum for students in elementary schools. The curriculum will include activities and instructional materials that help students become proficient in reading cursive and writing in cursive legibly by the end of the third grade.
NJPSA testified in opposition to the instruction of cursive handwriting being something is mandated by the Legislature, and instead pleaded with the Legislature to leave this decision and implementation to local district control. Again, despite the concerned testimony from several education stakeholder groups, the bill was unanimously advanced by the Committee. The bill has now been second-referenced to the Senate Budget Committee. NJPSA remains concerned about this bill.
S-2844 The program is to provide scholarships to eligible students who are employed in a public service sector experiencing critical workforce shortages.
To be eligible to participate in the program, a student is required to: have graduated from a public or nonpublic high school in the State in the past year or plan to graduate within six months of the date of application; be a resident of the State; be a United States citizen; be employed full-time in a paid position in an eligible public service sector providing, at a minimum, an hourly wage commensurate with the State minimum wage or be placed in an open position in a public service sector; and meet any other minimum qualifications as determined by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority.
This bill was unanimously advanced by the Committee, and has now been second-referenced to the Senate Budget Committee. NJPSA Supports this bill as another method of helping to address the educator staffing shortage.
S-3961 would require boards of education to offer a no-fee option to parents and guardians for making school lunch and other types of payments. The bill also requires any payment processing platform used by a school district to provide users with certain information on user fees.
Under the bill, any contract entered into on or after the bill’s effective date by a board of education with a third party vendor for the development or use of a payment processing platform is to require the payment processing platform to provide users with clear information on:
- all fees charged for use of the platform;
- the average annual fees incurred by a user of the platform; and
- the availability of an alternative no-fee means to make direct payments through the board of education.
This bill was advanced unanimously by the Senate Education Committee, and is now in Second Reading in the Senate. NJPSA Supports this bill.
SJR-93 would designate the first full week of May of each year as “Teacher Appreciation Week” in the State of New Jersey. Following the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the people of New Jersey are reminded of the tireless contributions of their teachers, who have risen to the occasion to support our children during a period of unprecedented crisis. During the public health emergency, which resulted in the closure of all public, private, and parochial schools in the State, teachers quickly responded by developing innovative lesson plans to allow over 1.4 million public school students to continue their education through remote instruction.
Despite the many challenges posed by remote instruction, the State’s educators successfully employed unique teaching strategies using online platforms to help students understand abstract concepts and develop critical-thinking skills, all of which are essential to academic development. During this time, teachers also spent countless hours collaborating with parents to ensure that every student remains engaged with their schoolwork, even while many of these teachers continue to care for their own children who are also at home. Although the societal effects of COVID-19 may recede with time, the contributions of educators during this public health emergency will always be remembered.
In light of these contributions, it is altogether fitting and proper for the State of New Jersey to designate the first full week in May as “Teacher Appreciation Week,” which week has been annually observed as “National Teacher Appreciation Week” since 1985.
The Committee unanimously advanced this Joint Resolution. NJPSA Supports this Resolution.
Both the state and federal governments are busy, and policy news is changing rapidly, sometimes daily. Your NJPSA Government Relations team is there on the ground to represent your interests, and to represent our incredible school leaders. If you have any questions, would like more information, or would like to get involved, please reach out to your NJPSA GR team: Director Debbie Bradley and/or Assistant Director Jennie Lamon. Thank you for all that you are, and all that you do – particularly in today’s very challenging times.