By Jennie Lamon and Chris Nelson
It was a busy week under the Golden Dome, with action on several issues that could have a direct impact on New Jersey schools, students, and educators. Governor Sherrill signed new laws expanding access to school-connected mental and behavioral health services and recognizing the military service of educational support professionals, while lawmakers advanced legislation addressing student fasting accommodations. The Senate Education Committee also took up a wide-ranging slate of bills with potential implications for school district policies and practices. Here’s what school leaders need to know about this week’s developments in Trenton.
Governor Sherrill Enacts SPARK Pilot Program Legislation to Grow Reach of School-Connected Services
On September 28, 2026, Governor Mikie Sherrill signed legislation establishing the School-Based Partnerships for Access and Resilience for Kids (SPARK) Pilot Program, a new initiative designed to make it easier for New Jersey students and families to access mental and behavioral health care through their schools. P.L., 2026 c.92, backed by $8 million in the FY2027 State Budget, will launch in early 2027 in up to 10 school districts and provide services including psychiatric consultations, assessments, short-term stabilization, referrals to longer-term care, family care coordination, and support for students returning to school following a mental health crisis or hospitalization. The signing is part of a broader $125 million-plus state investment in school- and community-based mental health and wellness programs for the 2026/27 school year. For schools, the new law means an additional bridge between educators, families and clinical providers, giving participating districts a more structured way to identify students who need help, connect them with appropriate services, manage crisis-related transitions, and potentially reduce the delays families often encounter when trying to navigate the behavioral health system.
Bill Extending Military Service Credit to School Support Staff Signed into Law
The Governor also signed into law a bill extending seniority credit to educational support professionals who served in the U.S. Military. P.L., 2026 c.93 ensures that educational support professionals, such as teacher’s aides, administrative assistants, bus drivers, food service workers, custodians, and other non-teaching school district employees, receive the same recognition for their military service that teaching staff members currently receive under state law. Eligible veterans will be granted up to four years of seniority or employment credit for time spent on active duty.
NJ Senate Education Committee
The Senate Education Committee Met on Thursday of this Week and Took Action on a number of bills addressing harassment, intimidation and bullying, a bill establishing CTE grants, and addressing enrollment of multiples in PreK lotteries.
Broadens definition of “harassment, intimidation, or bullying” in Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act
S-253 (Turner/McKnight) This bill seeks to make sweeping changes to the current Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights (ABR) law. The bill would expand the definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying (HIB) by eliminating the current requirement that conduct be reasonably perceived as motivated by an actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or another distinguishing characteristic. As a result, conduct could qualify as HIB regardless of whether it is connected to a protected or distinguishing characteristic.
The bill would also require the Commissioner of Education to update the State’s model HIB policy whenever the ABR is revised and require school districts to similarly update their local policies. It would eliminate the current requirement that HIB training specifically address bullying based on protected categories. Finally, the bill would expand school district reporting requirements by requiring HIB reports to be disaggregated by race, gender, sexual orientation, eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, special education status, and English language learner status, with this information reported to both local boards of education and the Department of Education.
John Farinella, NJPSA Legal Counsel, Coordinator of Legal Education for LEGAL ONE, and former high school principal with 25 years experience as an educator testified on behalf of NJPSA in opposition to these changes. NJPSA joined our colleagues from, NJASA, NJEA, NJASB, and GSCS in seeking amendments to this bill that would preserve the definition, but enhance awareness and understanding of “distinguishing characteristic”, but did not achieve them. Despite lengthy testimony, the bill was unanimously passed out of Committee, and is now on Second Reading in the Senate.
Establishes Anti-Bullying Youth Council to assist Anti-Bullying Task Force
S-175 (Diegnan) This bill would establish a 25-member Anti-Bullying Youth Council to provide the Anti-Bullying Task Force with students’ perspectives on bullying in New Jersey public and nonpublic schools. The council would include 21 middle and high school students, one appointed from each county, and four nonvoting members of the Legislature. The council would research and discuss bullying issues, develop policy recommendations for the Task Force, and issue an annual report to the Governor and Legislature with its findings and recommendations. The council would expire when the Anti-Bullying Task Force expires.
At the Committee Hearing, Senator Diegnan introduced a Senate Committee Substitute (SCS) that would create a permanent Anti-Bullying Commission. The commission would be required to prepare and submit a report to the Governor and Legislature every 5 years. Because the Task Force already expired, it has to be codified as if it was a new entity. The committee statement will clarify that the Legislature has previously established two Anti-Bullying Task Forces. These task forces expired within a certain number of days following issuance of their reports and this one will be permanent.
The SCS would also create a temporary Anti-Bullying Youth Council. The council would be required to prepare and submit policy recommendations to the Commission and report to the Governor and Legislature every year, and would require the council to report more frequently to the Governor/Legislature than the commission. The council would be set to expire upon the issuance of the first report by the Anti-Bullying Commission, (theoretically in five years).
The public members of the council are to be made up of public and nonpublic middle and high school students in the State. The SCS does establish a procedure for filling vacancies which may result in replacing a greater number of high school students that are placed on the council. NJPSA, although supportive of the intent, testified with logistical concerns about this bill regarding the composition and selection process for the Council’s membership. The bill was unanimously advanced by the Committee and has now been referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
Requires school districts to establish procedures for online reporting of harassment, intimidation, and bullying
S-4102 (McKnight) would modify the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act” to provide that beginning on the 120th day following enactment, each school district’s policy would also be required to include a procedure that permits a person to electronically report an act of harassment, intimidation, or bullying using an online reporting form, which would be accessible through the official Internet website of the school district. In addition, the bill requires a link to the online reporting form to be prominently posted on the home page of the school district’s website and distributed annually to parents and guardians who have children enrolled in the district.
NJPSA contends that New Jersey law already addresses this. More specifically, the current law already requires:
- Online/Electronic Option: Districts must provide a digital mechanism for confidential online submissions using state-approved numbered forms.
- Anonymous Reporting: The law explicitly allows individuals to report HIB incidents anonymously, though formal disciplinary actions cannot be based solely on an anonymous report.
- Traditional Reporting Still Allowed: Reports can still be made verbally to school staff or via the standard physical HIB 338 Form for Families and Caregivers.
Since this is a duplicative piece of legislation, where the law is currently functioning as intended, NJPSA took no position on its passage. The bill advanced out of the Education Committee and may now be considered by the full Senate.
Requires Instruction on bullying awareness and prevention as part of implementation of NJSLA in Health and Physical Ed
S-4457 (Singleton) As originally introduced, this bill would have imposed a new statutory curriculum mandate requiring every school district to incorporate specific bullying awareness and prevention instruction in grades preschool through 12 as part of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. NJPSA and other members of the education community raised concerns with this approach, particularly the continued practice of placing specific instructional requirements into statute rather than allowing curriculum decisions to be addressed through the established standards-development process. Working with the sponsor, the education community helped secure significant changes reflected in the Senate Committee Substitute adopted on October 1. Rather than directly mandating that districts provide the prescribed instruction, the substitute requires the State Board of Education to address age-appropriate bullying awareness and prevention instruction as part of the next scheduled review and update of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards and Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards, using the existing standards review and public-comment process. The substitute also directs the Commissioner of Education to develop sample learning activities and resources that districts may, rather than must, incorporate into their existing curricula. These changes preserve the bill’s goal of strengthening bullying awareness and prevention education while addressing NJPSA’s concern that individual curriculum requirements should not be imposed on school districts through separate statutory mandates. NJPSA supported this bill as amended,
“Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act”
S-4467 (Gopal/Turner) would establish anti-harassment and bullying requirements for New Jersey nonpublic schools, which are currently encouraged, but not required, to comply with the State’s Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act applicable to public schools. The bill would require nonpublic schools to adopt and annually distribute a plain-language anti-harassment and bullying policy that defines prohibited conduct and establishes procedures for reporting, investigating, documenting, and communicating the outcome of alleged incidents. School employees who witness or receive a report of harassment or bullying would be required to notify the principal or chief school administrator within one school day and submit a written report within two school days. School administrators would be required to promptly investigate reported incidents, communicate findings to the victim, take appropriate action to stop confirmed harassment or bullying and protect the victim, and safeguard individuals who report incidents or assist with investigations in good faith. The bill also expressly provides that these requirements may not infringe upon constitutionally protected rights of free expression, religious exercise, or religiously based views. Jack Redi’s parents were at the Committee and testified as to why NJ’s strong anti-bullying laws for its public schools must be expanded to include nonpublic schools as well. NJPSA supports this legislation.
Designates October of each year as “Bullying Prevention Month”
SJR-57 (Timberlake) would designate the month of October of each year is designated as “Bullying Prevention Month” in the State of New Jersey to nurture an awareness and understanding of bullying, including what constitutes bullying, the various ways in which bullying can impact people of all ages in different environments, and the actions that can be taken to stop or prevent bullying behavior. This Joint Resolution would further request the Governor to annually issue a proclamation calling upon public officials and citizens of this State to observe “Bullying Prevention Month” with appropriate activities and programs. NJPSA supports this legislation.
Establishes CTE Partnership Grant Program
S-2597 (Gopal) would require the Commissioner of Education to establish a four-year Career and Technical Education (CTE) Partnership Grant Program to support partnerships between county vocational school districts and other districts operating approved CTE programs and urban districts, other school districts, county colleges, and other entities. Grants would support the development and implementation of high-quality CTE programs in existing school or college facilities not owned or leased by the grant recipient. The commissioner would administer the program, determine grant amounts within available State appropriations, and may award multi-year grants. Four years after the program is established, the commissioner must report to the Governor and Legislature on its outcomes and recommend whether to establish a permanent funding source. The program is modeled on the County Vocational School District Partnership Grant Program, which operated from FY 2015 through FY 2018. Unlike that program, which was limited to county vocational school districts, this bill would also make other school districts operating approved CTE programs or programs of study eligible for grants. NJPSA supports this legislation.
Enrollment of twins or higher order multiples in public preschool programs
S-4349 (Holzapfel/McKnight) would extend existing classroom placement protections for twins and higher order multiples to public preschool programs. Parents or guardians may request that their children be placed in the same or separate classrooms, including in preschool programs operated by licensed child care providers when multiple classrooms are available. The bill also requires public schools using a lottery or open enrollment for preschool to treat twins or higher order multiples as one unit. The children must be selected or waitlisted together and may not be placed in programs operated by different schools or licensed child care providers within the district unless requested by their parent or guardian. Current law provides similar classroom placement rights for twins and higher order multiples in kindergarten through eighth grade. NJPSA supports this legislation.
NJPSA Legislative Committee Meeting
The NJPSA Legislative Committee also met this week for its first meeting of the 2026–2027 school year. Peter James, Director of Technology for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, will serve as Committee Chair for the 2026–2027 school year.
During its 26/27 inaugural meeting, the Committee engaged in a robust discussion of the busy September legislative session and a wide range of proposals impacting New Jersey’s public schools. Topics included proposed changes to the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act, FAFSA requirements, educator employment-history reviews, alternate diplomas for students with disabilities, cameras in certain special education classrooms, civic readiness, bilingual and English language learner education, virtual instruction, policies affecting students impacted by immigration enforcement, artificial intelligence in schools, extraordinary special education aid, and proposed changes to the observation and evaluation of nontenured teaching staff.
The Legislative Committee provides members with an opportunity to dig deeper into the education policy issues being considered in Trenton and to help inform NJPSA’s legislative advocacy. If you would like to join this policy-focused and always interesting committee, please sign up through NJPSA Leadership Connection.
Stay Tuned!
We will continue to work to advocate for New Jersey’s Principals, Vice Principals, Assistant Supervisors, Director and Supervisors and keep you informed. If you have any questions about any of these bills, or would like to get more involved, please contact your NJPSA GR team!