On June 1, 2026, the Senate Education Committee considered several bills affecting New Jersey’s public schools, students, and educators. The committee reported multiple measures favorably, including legislation concerning student disciplinary records, voting instruction, and school calendar planning, while also discussing proposals related to school funding and nonpublic school services. NJPSA monitored the committee’s activity closely and worked with sponsors and stakeholders to secure amendments on key legislation. The following is a summary of the bills considered and the actions taken by the committee.
Requires Commissioner of Education to Recommend Dates for Spring Break in School Districts
Sponsored by Senators Patrick J Diegnan and M. Teresa Ruiz, S-170 would require the Commissioner of Education to annually recommend the dates on which a school district may close its schools for a spring break. In order to assist school districts in the development of their school calendars, the commissioner is required to inform the school districts of the dates for spring break no later than June 30th of the prior school year. The bill would take effect in the first full school year following the enactment date of the bill. NJPSA was neutral on this bill. The bill was reported favorably by the Committee, with 3 Senators voting “yes”, one voting “no” and one not voting. The bill is now on Second Reading in the Senate.
Sponsored by Senator Troy Singleton, S-1819 would require a nonpublic school to forward to a school district the student disciplinary records of a nonpublic school student who transfers to the school district.
Under the bill, when a student enrolled in a nonpublic school transfers to a public school, upon the written request of the school district, the nonpublic school is to provide to the district, within 14 calendar days of the district’s request, all information in the student’s record related to disciplinary action taken against the student by the nonpublic school. The nonpublic school is also required to notify, within 14 calendar days of the school district’s written request, the district of any information the nonpublic school may have received from a court or a law enforcement or prosecuting agency in regard to any offense with which the student may have been charged. The provision of this information by courts and law enforcement agencies to school principals is authorized under existing law.
Current law establishes a procedure for the transfer of student records, including student disciplinary records, of a public school student who transfers to another school district. This bill establishes a similar procedure for the transfer of student disciplinary records when a nonpublic school student transfers to a public school.
NJPSA worked with the sponsor and other stakeholders to amend the bill to clarify that a nonpublic school is to send the student record information required under the bill within 14 calendar days of the district’s request. NJPSA supports this bill as amended. The bill was reported favorably as amended with four Senators voting “yes”, zero voting “no” and one not voting. The bill is now on Second Reading in the Senate.
Sponsored by Raj Mukherji, and Vin Gopal, S-2912 would require the State Board of Education to adopt New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Social Studies pertaining to voting and ensure that instruction on voting is incorporated in an appropriate place in the curriculum of students in grade 12. The standards adopted by the State Board would occur concurrent with each update to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards as provided under current law.
The bill also requires that, beginning with the first full school year following the enactment of the bill, each board of education of a school district to incorporate instruction on voting in an appropriate place in the curriculum for students in grade 12 as part of the school district’s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Social Studies.
The instruction will provide students with information on: the importance of voting, including the role and responsibilities of citizens as voters; voter registration, including eligibility requirements, and information on the pre-registration and registration processes; and how to vote, including locating polling places or requesting an absentee ballot.
School districts may collaborate with election officials to develop the instruction on voting. School districts may also collaborate with local boards of elections to assist in providing students with voter pre-registration or registration forms.
NJPSA was able to work with the sponsors of the bill and other stakeholders to amend the bill to require the State Board of Education to adopt New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Social Studies pertaining to voting and ensure that instruction on voting is incorporated in an appropriate place in the curriculum of students in grade 12; provide that the standards adopted by the State Board would occur concurrent with each update to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards; and provide that each board of education of a school district is required to incorporate instruction on voting beginning with the first full school year following the enactment of the bill. The bill was reported favorably as amended with four Senators voting “yes”, zero voting “no” and one not voting. The bill is now on Second Reading in the Senate.
Revises High School Student Financial Aid Application Requirements
Sponsored by Senators Shirley K. Turner and Robert W. Singer, S-3245 would the requirement that students complete a financial aid application (FAFSA) in order to graduate from high school permanent, without waiting for completion of the current pilot program.
NJPSA testified in opposition to this legislation as premature.
Under P.L. 2025, c.95, which amended P.L. 2023, c.295, students in the graduating classes of 2026 and 2027 are already required to complete the FAFSA, or qualify for an exemption, as a condition of high school graduation. Importantly, that legislation also established a three-year pilot program and required the collection and evaluation of data to determine whether the requirement is achieving its intended goals.
At that time, the Legislature recognized that such a significant policy change required a formal evaluation process. The pilot was designed to provide critical information regarding implementation, student participation, administrative burdens, exemption rates, and any measurable impact on postsecondary enrollment and financial aid access. The required report will provide valuable evidence regarding the program’s effectiveness and whether permanent implementation is warranted.
While Senator Turner expressed concern that a future graduating class may not be subject to the requirement if the pilot concludes before the report is issued, NJPSA submitted that this temporary gap should not outweigh the importance of completing the evaluation process that the Legislature itself established. The purpose of a pilot program is to inform future policymaking. Moving forward with permanent implementation before the pilot has run its full course and before the required report has been reviewed would effectively bypass the evaluation process created to guide legislative decision-making.
NJPSA joined other stakeholder groups in requesting that S-3245 be held until the pilot program is completed and the required report is issued and reviewed by the Legislature. The bill was reported favorably by the Committee, with 3 Senators voting “yes”, one voting “no” and one not voting. The bill is now on Second Reading in the Senate.
Establishes Requirements for Students Engaging in Certain Bias-Related Conduct Sponsored by Senators Britnee N.Timberlake and Angela V.McKnight, S-3715 would require a student determined by a school district to have committed any bias incident on school property, at any school-sponsored function, or on a school bus to meet with a mental health care professional employed by the district once a week for a minimum of nine months.
The bill would require each school district to employ at least one mental health care professional with expertise in student counseling and training in implicit bias, racial equity, or cultural competence or humility to provide these services to the schools of the district.
The bill would require a school district to place a student in an alternative education program if: (1) a student’s parent or guardian refuses to consent to student participation in the meetings with the mental health care professional; or (2) a student is reported for engaging in a subsequent bias incident following completion of the meetings with the mental health care professional.
The bill would require a mental health care professional meeting with a student pursuant to the provisions of the bill to: (1) provide educational resources to assist the student in understanding the impact of the student’s conduct; (2) offer a supportive environment for the student to discuss and explore the potential motivation behind the student’s conduct; and (3) seek to determine whether a mental health condition may have contributed to the student’s actions.
Under the bill, a school district is required to develop and implement a Racial and Bias Intervention Plan that includes numerous components for each student determined to have engaged in a bias incident.
The bill also requires school districts to report all reported bias incidents to the Department of Education within 72 hours of the report of the incident using a standardized reporting system to be established by the Commissioner of Education. Under the bill, the department is required to compile and publish quarterly dashboards and an Annual Statewide Bias in Schools Report on the department’s Internet website that is to include certain listed information.
Finally, the provisions of the bill are to be construed as supplemental to, and not in conflict with, the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act.”
NJPSA testified in opposition to this legislation because there is already a strong statutory framework in place involving multiple laws across several sectors of our government and schools including the Anti-bullying Bill of Rights (ABR) N.J.S.A. 18A: 37-13 et seq., the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq., state criminal code, (N.J.S.A. 2C:16-1 bias intimidation), and the Memorandum of Understanding Between Law Enforcement and the Schools which all districts must adopt. Additionally, the Attorney General’s office, the NJ Department of Education and the Department of Civil Rights have issued guidance, regulations, training opportunities, incident reporting systems (and requirements), data portals, and other tools to assist schools in their compliance with state laws.
NJPSA, working with other education stakeholders, believes that S-3715 as drafted is unnecessary and in conflict with other legal requirements. We look forward to working with the sponsor as this bill moves through the legislative process. The bill was passed favorably by the committee by a vote of three “yes” votes, one “abstention” and one not voting. The bill has been second referenced to the Senate Budget Committee.
Sponsored by Senator Joseph Lagana, S-4260 would require the establishment of a three-year nonpublic school nursing services pilot program in an eligible county permitting the establishment or utilization of a county consortium for the provision of nursing services to nonpublic schools that are part of the county consortium. Under the bill, an eligible county is defined as a county of the first class with a population greater than 950,000 according to the latest federal decennial census. The bill requires a board of education to disburse to the county consortium an amount equal to the nonpublic nursing services aid that is paid to the school district.
The bill requires the Commissioner of Education to publish on the Department of Education’s website notification of the existence of the pilot program. The notification would provide information to nonpublic schools related to the consortium’s responsibility under the pilot program to provide nursing services, which are otherwise required to be provided by boards of education under current law, to the pupils attending a nonpublic school that participates in the pilot program.
The bill requires a nonpublic school to notify the commissioner, the governing body of the county consortium, and any school districts in which the nonpublic school is located, of the nonpublic school’s intention to participate in the consortium no later than June 1 of the preceding school year.
Under the bill, in order to participate in the pilot program, the consortium is required to provide to the commissioner, at the commissioner’s request, the necessary assurances that the consortium is capable of complying with the consortium’s nursing services responsibilities under the pilot program.
The bill requires the consortium to annually enter into a contract with an independent entity to audit the implementation of the pilot program. The audit for the prior school year would be submitted to the commissioner no later than October 1 of each year and the consortium is required to transmit a copy of the audit to the Governor and to the Legislature.
The bill provides that two years following the establishment of the pilot program, the commissioner is required to provide the Governor and the Legislature a recommendation on the advisability of continuing the program and expanding the program Statewide.
The Senate Education Committee reported the bill favorably out of committee with four “yes” votes and one “not voting”. The bill has been second referenced to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. NJPSA is neutral on this legislation.
Sponsored by Senator Vin Gopal, S-4366 would allow unexpended State aid for either the nonpublic school nursing services aid program or the nonpublic school security aid program to be used to support the services provided under the other program. A school district would be required to report to the Commissioner of Education the amount of unexpended nonpublic school nursing services aid or nonpublic school security aid used to support the services provided under the other program in a manner and form, and on a schedule, to be determined by the commissioner.
Under current law, in the event that the expenditures incurred by a school district are less than the State aid received to support required nursing or security services provided to nonpublic schools, the district is required to refund the unexpended State aid after the completion of the school year. This bill would permit unexpended funds in either program to be used to support expenditures in the other program, before those funds are required to be refunded to the State.
The committee amended the bill to require a school district to report to the Commissioner of Education the amount of unexpended nonpublic school nursing services aid or nonpublic school security aid used to support the services provided under the other program in a manner and form, and on a schedule, to be determined by the commissioner.
The Senate Education Committee reported the bill favorably out of committee with four “yes” votes and one “not voting”. The bill has been second referenced to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. NJPSA is neutral on this legislation.
“Discussion Only” Bills: S-4118 and S-4330
Prohibits reductions in State school aid for certain school districts in 2026-2027 school year
Two school funding-related bills, S-4118 and S-4330, were also heard by the Senate Education Committee on June 1 for “discussion only”, meaning no committee vote was taken. Committee Chairman Vin Gopal explained that the purpose of the hearing was not to advance either bill immediately, but rather to begin a broader discussion about challenges within New Jersey’s school funding formula and to hear directly from stakeholders impacted by recent aid reductions. S-4118, which would provide additional aid to certain school districts located in Highlands and Pinelands preservation areas, generated significant interest and brought dozens of school officials, board members, parents, and community advocates to testify in support. NJPSA testified that both bills seek to address legitimate shortcomings in the current school funding system and expressed support for the goals underlying the legislation. However, NJPSA also emphasized that long-term solutions should be incorporated directly into the school funding formula itself rather than relying on annual legislative fixes targeted at specific districts or circumstances.
If you have any questions or would like more information about any of the bills that moved in Trenton this week, please reach out to your NJPSA Government Relations Team. #PrincipalsAdvocate!