During the first week of the New Year, schools were made phone-free under a new law, the State Board of Education met and welcomed a new member, and the State Legislature advanced more than two hundred pieces of legislation. These packed agendas reflect the Legislature’s push to move bills over the finish line and onto the Governor’s desk before the 2024–2025 session comes to a close on January 13, 2026. Governor Murphy will have seven days to sign any passed legislation. If unsigned during this timeframe, the legislation will be considered to be “pocket vetoed” and must start over in the legislative process in the new legislative session.
Next week, both houses will meet for one final voting session. Then, on January 13, pursuant to Article IV, Section I, paragraph 3 of the State Constitution, the General Assembly will convene at 12:00 p.m. for reorganization. The Legislature will subsequently convene in the Assembly Chamber to hear the Governor deliver the State of the State address.
Please contact the NJPSA Government Relations team with any questions on legislation or new laws signed by the Governor.
Action By the Governor
On Thursday, January 8th, Governor Phil Murphy visited Ramsey High School in Bergen County to sign bipartisan legislation requiring all school districts in New Jersey to adopt policies restricting the use of cell phones and other internet-enabled devices in K-12 schools. Governor Murphy first announced his intention to pursue phone-free schools in New Jersey during his 2025 State of the State address and highlighted the policy proposal during a visit to Woodbury Junior-Senior High School in Gloucester County last February.
This bill requires the Commissioner of Education to publish guidelines on restricting students’ use of cell phones and other internet-enabled devices during regular school hours, on a school bus, or during school-sanctioned events. Boards of education will be required to adopt policies that align with the statewide K–12 guidelines. Board policies must, among other provisions, prohibit the non-academic use of personal internet-enabled devices on school grounds during the school day, with limited exceptions.
Pursuant to this legislation, the Department of Education (DOE) is reviewing its previously published Guidance for Schools on Student Use of Internet-Enabled Devices and anticipates publishing updated guidelines in mid-January in consultation with stakeholders. The DOE guidelines will serve as a roadmap for creating safer, more focused learning environments. They will outline best practices for secure storage, staff training, and equitable enforcement, ensuring that every student benefits from fewer distractions and better opportunities for engagement. District policies will become effective for the 2026–2027 school year.
“The New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association supports thoughtful efforts to minimize learning distractions, increase student engagement, and protect students’ well-being and safety, including from online predators and bullying, in today’s digital environment,” said Heather Moran, a member of the New Jersey Commission on the Effects of Social Media Usage on Adolescents and a representative of the NJ Principals and Supervisors Association. “We appreciate that this legislation avoids a one-size-fits-all approach and preserves the flexibility for school leaders and local boards of education to adopt policies that best reflect the needs of their students and communities. That local discretion is essential, and we believe it is an important strength of this law.”
Action By the Legislature
This week the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and Assembly Appropriations Committee both met on January 8 for the final time of the 2024/2025 Legislative Session and considered the following pieces of legislation impacting our schools.
Illicit Opioid Supply Substances Poisoning Awareness Act (A-3909/S-2818)
NJPSA worked with the bill sponsors and other education stakeholders to secure several key amendments to this legislation. As amended, the bill requires school districts to provide instruction to students in grades six through 12 on the dangers of substances that are prevalent or emerging in New Jersey’s illicit opioid supply, as part of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. The instruction must include information on substance abuse prevention, opioid poisoning awareness, the dangers of synthetic opioids, adulterants and counterfeit drugs, how to recognize and respond to an opioid poisoning emergency, applicable Good Samaritan and immunity laws related to overdose response, and age-appropriate information on where students can access opioid antidotes, including naloxone, in schools and their communities.
The bill also directs the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, to provide districts with existing, age-appropriate instructional resources sourced from public health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the New Jersey Department of Human Services. In addition, the Department of Education must post and maintain on its website instructional materials, staff and parent awareness resources, information on outreach and mental health supports, and links to community resources, including locations where naloxone may be obtained.
Committee amendments changed the bill’s short title to the “Illicit Opioid Supply Substances Poisoning Awareness Act,” removed specific references to fentanyl and xylazine, clarified that instruction must include information on immunity protections for those who administer antidotes or seek medical help, and required districts to provide age-appropriate information on accessing naloxone in a manner determined locally. The amendments also revised the list of approved information sources, removed the DEA as a source, eliminated the annual reporting requirement to the Governor and Legislature, and delayed implementation until the first full school year following the next scheduled update to the health standards. The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee released both bills favorably as amended, and the Assembly and Senate versions are now identical and advanced to Second Reading.
This bill makes a number of changes to New Jersey’s charter school law affecting charter approval, oversight, transparency, and governance. The bill requires the Commissioner of Education to consider both academic and fiscal factors, including the financial impact on host districts, when reviewing new charter applications, and to deny applications that propose primarily virtual or out-of-state operations or that fail to demonstrate unmet need. It also expands public reporting requirements by directing the Department of Education and charter schools to post budgets, contracts, annual reports, and governance information online, and by requiring plain-language budget summaries and public budget hearings. In addition, the legislation updates governance and operational rules by setting new experience and residency standards for charter school board members, establishing limits on certain employment agreements, and clarifying the Commissioner’s authority to place schools on probation or revoke charters following repeated violations. Collectively, the bill represents a significant update to the statutory framework governing charter schools in New Jersey. On Thursday, January 8th, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted to amend, and then advance this bill to the Senate floor, however, we anticipate floor amendments addressing Renaissance schools to be included. Similar action was taken in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. A last minute amendment on Thursday grandfathered existing for-profit educational management companies from an overall prohibition on the use of for profit entities to run charter schools. We expect the bill to be further amended and voted on by both the Assembly and Senate on Monday. NJPSA Supports this bill as amended.
Concerns charter school enrollment, student placements, reporting, and athletics (S-4716)
The bill revises several aspects of charter school operations in New Jersey, including enrollment, student transitions, reporting, and athletics, while clarifying that its provisions do not apply to renaissance school projects. It prohibits charter schools from using admissions criteria beyond a random lottery, while allowing weighted lotteries to promote diverse enrollment and requiring applications to be available in the seven most common non-English languages in the district. The bill updates enrollment preferences, establishes commissioner oversight for the enrollment of non-resident students, and reaffirms nondiscrimination and open-access requirements. It creates a new role of student placement liaison in public schools and charter schools to coordinate student entry, exit, and placement and to track enrollment data, including conducting exit interviews and reporting standardized, non-identifiable exit information. The bill also requires the Department of Education to post charter school report card information online and establishes rules governing charter school participation in interscholastic athletics, including membership in approved voluntary associations and eligibility limits for non-resident students. The act takes effect immediately and applies beginning with the first full school year after enactment. On Thursday, January 8th, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and Assembly Appropriations Committee both voted to amend, and then advance this bill to their respective floors. We expect the bill to be voted on by the full Senate and Assembly on Monday. NJPSA Supports this bill as amended.
Curriculum Mandate on Cursive Handwriting Grades K-5 (S-1783/A-5368)
This legislation mandates that school districts incorporate instruction on cursive handwriting into the curriculum for students in grades K-5 beginning in the first full school year following the date the bill is signed into law. If Governor Murphy signs the bill, this would mean the 2026-27 school year. The bill further requires that the curriculum include activities and instructional materials that assist students in achieving handwriting proficiency by the end of third grade. NJPSA has testified in opposition to this legislation as a statewide mandate instead supporting local decisions about curriculum. The bill was favorably released by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on January 8th. The bill is on the Board List for the Assembly’s Voting Session on Monday, January 12th.
Nonpublic School Nursing Services Pilot (S-5029/A-6149)
This bill creates a three-year pilot program for the provision of nursing services, through a county consortium, to nonpublic school students. The Commissioner of Education is directed to establish, supervise and fund this pilot program. During the pilot program, the Commissioner shall directly disburse nursing services aid to the consortium, not via the current system of having these funds flow through local school districts. The program will be fully audited and a final report issued to the Governor and Legislature.
NJPSA is monitoring this legislation and pilot program.This bill was advanced through both the Senate Budget and Appropriations and Assembly Appropriations committees on January 8 and we anticipate final passage in both houses on Monday, January 12. NJPSA is monitoring this legislation and pilot program.
Provides health care benefits to disabled members of TPAF and PERS (A-5118/S4223)
This bill ensures that members of TPAF and PERS who become disabled and receive disability insurance (rather than a disability pension) are also entitled to free State-provided health benefits. It would apply to employees hired after 2010 who are not eligible for disability retirement and instead receive a State-purchased disability insurance benefit equal to 60% of salary. The bill guarantees that these disabled members receive health coverage through the State or School Employees’ Health Benefits Programs with no premium contributions, no enrollment deadlines, and no additional eligibility requirements. The bill also preserves pension service credit during disability, allows limited return-to-work, creates an appeals process, and takes effect immediately. On Thursday, January 8th, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee voted to amend, and then advance this bill to the Senate floor. We expect the bill to be voted on by the full Senate on Monday.
Revises Membership Requirements of Commission on Latino and Hispanic Heritage (S-4809)
This bill revises the membership qualifications for the Commission on Latino and Hispanic Heritage by removing the requirement that certain public members hold a Master’s degree or have served as prominent community leaders. Instead, it requires that public members simply have knowledge and experience in Latino or Hispanic studies or education, making the eligibility criteria more flexible. On January 8th, this bill was reported favorably out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and is now on Second Reading in the Assembly. The bill was already unanimously passed by the Senate on December 18, 2025. We anticipate final passage by the Assembly on Monday, January 12. NJPSA Supports this bill.
On Thursday, January 8th, the Assembly Appropriations Committee voted to amend this bill and advance it to Second Reading. On December 8, 2025, NJPSA worked with other education stakeholders and successfully advocated to exempt public schools from the provisions of the bill as it advanced through the Senate. As amended, the bill still includes exemptions for K-12 schools, as well as pre-packaged items manufactured with attached utensils, health care facilities, and correctional institutions. This amended bill language was adopted in the Assembly and the bill has advanced to second reading. We anticipate final passage in both houses on Monday, January 12. NJPSA has moved from Opposed to Neutral on this bill because K-12 schools are not exempted.
Your NJPSA Government Relations team will be at the State house again next week, and will continue to bring you all of the latest updates as “Lame Duck” and the 2024-2025 Legislative Session wraps up!