-Chris Nelson, Assistant Director of Government Relations
June 6, 2025
This week, the full Senate met for a voting session and the Senate Education Committee met to consider bills related to public education in the state, including a bill that would require lock boxes at public schools, a bill that would establish a central registry of tutors, and a measure that would place a limit on the number of hours a CE candidate in career and technical education must complete to achieve endorsement. Read on to find out more about what happened under the Golden Dome this week.
On Monday, June 2, the full Senate met and passed the following legislation:
S-4375/A-5077, which would extend the statutory pause on the collection of student growth objective (SGO) data. The working group on teacher evaluations has been making steady progress since beginning its work last October. However, the working group will not be able to implement its recommendations within the timeline set forth in the original legislation, so a continuation of the pause in SGOs is necessary. This bill will extend the pause, but with a stipulation that allows individuals dissatisfied with their most recent qualifying evaluation to request a new one. It further makes adjustments to tenure process considerations. An earlier version of this bill has already passed the Assembly, However, since the Senate made amendments, the bill will now return to the Assembly for a vote to concur with those changes before it proceeds to the Governor’s desk.
S-3961/A-5263, which would require public and certain nonpublic schools to offer no-fee option to parents for making school lunch and other payments, and require payment processing platforms used by certain schools to provide users with information on user fees. This legislation is an attempt to address the thorny issue of payment for school meals and unpaid meal bills. NJ PSA staff have monitored and provided input on this bill throughout the legislative process. An older version of this bill was previously passed by the Senate, but it was further amended by the Assembly earlier in May. Amendments included clarification on eligibility and administrative responsibilities. This passage was a concurrence with those amendments, and the bill now goes to the Governor’s desk.
S-2376, which would require boards of education to ensure that all staff are trained in care of students with epilepsy and seizure disorders every five years. This legislation would adjust the training provision of existing law regarding handling of epilepsy and seizure disorders. As passed, the bill now would require that all staff be trained every five years, where currently there is no set interval for that training, which has caused some confusion on accountability for the individual districts. The Assembly counterpart, A-2255, is currently in the Education Committee and has not yet received a hearing.
S-3776, which would establish the Chronic Absenteeism Task Force. As passed, the bill would require establishment of an 18-member task force to study chronic absenteeism in New Jersey. The task force would be charged with examining absenteeism pre- and post-pandemic, analyzing root causes, examining the role of mental health, and developing recommendations and best practices based upon their analyses and determinations. The bill gives the task force a six month operational timeline and requires a comprehensive report at its conclusion. There is not currently an Assembly counterpart to this bill.
S-3902, which would permit excused absence for students participating in college visits, visits to postsecondary technical institutions, and military recruitment-related activities. According to the sponsors, young persons engaged in military recruitment are often required at multiple times to be absent for various reasons related to their recruitment. This bill is intended to honor their commitment to service by excusing those absences. Earlier versions of the bill only addressed enlistment activity, and NJ PSA engagement resulted in the inclusion of other postsecondary visits and activities to align the opportunities given for all students, not just those joining the military. Concern remains in various education advocacy organizations that absences are appropriately limited in number for most students, but are unlimited for these enlistment activities in the version passed by the Senate. The Assembly counterpart, A-5148, remains under consideration in the Assembly Education Committee and has not been scheduled for a hearing. NJ PSA staff remains engaged with legislators on this matter.
On Thursday, June 5, the Senate Education Committee met and advanced the following legislation:
S-4440, which would require key boxes at public school buildings and appropriate $2.5 million for that purpose. As written, the bill would require schools to have a key box containing keys (or equivalent access control devices) for each room and building on the grounds, as well as printed critical incident mapping data. The boxes would be coordinated with and accessible by emergency responders. NJ PSA members expressed considerable concern with several provisions of this proposal and GR staff have engaged with the sponsor in order to pursue amendments. Among other items, we have requested removal of the inclusion of mapping data, flexibility in funding and reimbursement options, and an ability for districts who already have equivalent effective practices in place to seek exemption. S-4440 passed out of committee and is now on second reading. Its Assembly counterpart, A-5720, is in the Assembly Education Committee and has not yet received a hearing. NJPSA is seeking amendments to this measure.
S-4476, which would permit the awarding of contracts for certain preschool education services by resolution of the board of education and extend the maximum length of preschool education service contracts to three years. This measure addresses a technical area of contracting between private childcare providers and districts that will enable better implementation of Pre-K policies to be established in a larger piece of legislation. Functionally, this bill is a prelude to that bill, which we expect to be heard in committee in the coming weeks. NJPSA supports the advancement of this bill as a means of giving districts flexibility in building and implementing community-appropriate preschool programs.
S-4515, which would limit certain requirements for certification of career and technical education teachers. This bill would place a limit on the number of hours a CE candidate in career and technical education must complete to achieve endorsement. The limit would be set at 200 hours or one academic year of instruction. The committee heard considerable testimony in support of this measure as a means of addressing this particular area of staffing shortage and putting quality instructors in the classroom. NJ PSA supported its advancement. The bill passed the committee and is now on second reading. There is no Assembly counterpart at this time. NJPSA supports this bill.
S-4312/A-4854, which would modify the method of allocating state aid for providing auxiliary and remedial services to nonpublic school students. This bill is the sponsors’ effort to ensure that monies allocated for services in nonpublic schools are accessible to those who need them and are spent appropriately. Many nonpublic schools report that, because of the way the formula is currently structured, funds are allocated by the Legislature, but they cannot access them in the allotted time, and therefore the funds go unused and are returned to the state. The sponsors’ intent is to ensure that the funds are properly allocated and used as intended. Some concerns have been expressed by the school finance community, and discussion is ongoing.
A4854 has already passed the Assembly, and so the two are now moving in tandem through the Senate. After advancing through Senate Education, the bills were referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee for further consideration. NJPSA is neutral on this bill.
S-2867/A-1997, which would require the DOE to establish a central registry of individuals and organizations interested in providing supplemental tutoring support to students. This bill is the sponsors’ effort to ensure that there is a centrally located and curated list of options for free tutoring available to parents and students throughout the state. The bill requires the DOE to assemble and maintain the list based on a set of defined criteria, and to make it readily accessible and searchable. All responsibility rests with the Department and with the individuals seeking inclusion – none is passed to the districts or the schools. NJPSA supports this measure as a means to improve access to tutoring resources to students who need them.
S-341, which would require the Commissioner of Education to recommend dates for spring break in school districts. This measure follows reports to some legislators of disparities in spring break schedules causing significant logistical and scheduling challenges between families and schools. The bill makes no requirement except that the Commission must examine and recommend dates to all districts in the state. Final decision would still be with the district. NJ PSA took no position on the matter, as it represents more of an administrative suggestion than concrete policy. The bill advanced out of committee and is now on second reading. There is no Assembly counterpart at this time. NJPSA is neutral on this bill.
S-2167 would require all public schools to comply with the previous nutrition standards for the National School Lunch Program and federal School Breakfast Program that were adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and published in Volume 77, Number 17 of the Federal Register dated January 26, 2012, or any more stringent nutrition standards adopted by the USDA after the bill’s enactment. The bill was amended by the Committee to include “competitive foods” (any food that is in schools that is not part of the national school lunch program such as cafeteria snacks and vending machines etc), and unanimously advanced the amended version out of committee. The bill is now on Second Reading in the Senate. The Assembly counterpart, A-1406, was previously passed out of the Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee and has been referred to the Assembly Appropriations Committee where it is currently pending. NJPSA supports this bill.
SCR-128, which is a resolution encouraging school districts to establish concussion management teams. The resolution strongly urges districts to establish concussion management teams and lays out the reasoning behind said encouragement. The resolution contains no requirements or responsibilities, and is simply an expression of encouragement that each district consider this important area of health policy. NJ PSA supported its advancement.
The resolution advanced out of committee and is now on second reading. Its Assembly counterpart, ACR-165, is currently in the Assembly Education Committee and has not yet received a hearing. NJPSA supports this Resolution.
The Senate Labor Committee also met on Thursday, June 5th.
The Senate Labor Committee approved bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Vince Polistina (R-2) aimed at giving working parents more flexibility to participate in their children’s education. The bill, S-172, would establish a voluntary program for businesses to offer up to two days of paid leave for employees to attend school-related events for their child. The bill passed the Labor Committee by a unanimous vote of 5-0 and has now been referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. NJPSA supports this bill.
The Joint Committee on the Public Schools met on Friday, June 6th.
The Joint Committee on the Public Schools met to discuss the importance of Arts in Education. NJPSA/FEA’s Director of Special Projects, Dr. Mary Reece, spoke on behalf of NJPSA members including supervisors and directors of arts education programs in our state, who, along with school leaders, are responsible for ensuring that arts classes are rigorous, high quality and accessible to all students in their districts. NJPSA was well represented as Dr. Reece is also a founding board member and former chairperson of Arts Ed NJ. NJPSA’s collaboration with Arts Ed NJ, began in 2007, and our association continues to support and promote high quality, creative, joyful, inspiring and culturally sustaining classes in all art forms.
With the state budget passage on the horizon, the NJ Legislative calendar is getting busy. News from both the state and federal governments is developing rapidly.nYour 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, Assistant Director Jennie Lamon and Assistant Director Chris Nelson. Thank you for all that you are, and all that you do – particularly in today’s challenging times.