The New Jersey General Assembly met for its first voting session since the summer break on Thursday the 24th. A total of 32 bills and 5 resolutions were considered, including three of note to the education community.
A2042 (Haider) – Requires Commissioner of Education to develop guidance on accommodations for certain students fasting for religious or medical reasons – Sponsors developed this bill initially in response to a call from the Muslim community for greater consistency in dealing with students who cannot safely be physically active during fasting. With NJPSA guidance, the sponsors modified the bill to require the Commissioner of Education to develop uniform guidance to address any student fasting for religious or medical reasons. The bill achieved final passage in this voting session and now goes to the Governor’s desk.
A2470 (McCoy) – Revises high school student financial aid application requirements – As outlined in last week’s Update From Trenton, this bill would make permanent the current requirement that graduating students fill out a FAFSA document as part of their graduation process. NJPSA offered testimony encouraging the sponsors to consider waiting until the current pilot has run its course and data can be reviewed before making it permanent. The Assembly made amendments on the floor during this hearing and NJPSA staff are currently reviewing these. No vote was taken on this bill.
A4236 (Stanley) – Designates accounting as STEM subject for various educational and other programs – This bill amends state law to require that accounting be considered a STEM subject. Doing so ensures that accounting programs become eligible for the same reimbursement and grant programs as other similarly designated programs, as well as makes associated teachers eligible for additional remuneration for teaching STEM classes at non-public schools. During previous testimony proponents argued that this step is necessary to revitalize a professional pathway that currently faces similar challenges to other STEM-related fields. Opponents noted that this change could further enlarge and therefore dilute the pool of eligible programs and students, further stretching the funds and limiting the actual dollars that directly benefit students. This bill passed the General Assembly. Its Senate counterpart, S4147, is currently in the Senate Education Committee, where it has not yet received a hearing.