New Jersey A 4772: Establishes "Defend our Educational Resources Act."

Bill Text

A4772 

ASSEMBLY, No. 4772 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� AURA K. DUNN

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Scharfenberger and Assemblywoman Flynn

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires State Auditor to conduct performance audits 
of certain school districts. 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� As introduced.

�� 

An Act concerning performance audits of school districts by 
the State Auditor and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

���� Be It 
Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of 
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� The Office of the 
State Auditor shall conduct performance audits on school districts in the State 
to determine any cost savings and fraudulent uses of public funds during or 
related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.� The performance audits shall 
be in addition to the audits required pursuant to subsection d. of section 6 of 
P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-6) and section 4 of P.L.2006, c.15 (C.18A:7A-57).� 
The State Auditor shall conduct the performance audits required pursuant to 
this section on a random sampling of school districts, the sample size of which 
shall be at the discretion of the State Auditor.� The State Auditor shall 
ensure that the sampling of school districts includes school districts from 
each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State and that the 
sampling of school districts within each region of the State includes school districts 
that employed the primary modes of instruction during the COVID-19 public 
health emergency, including fully remote instruction, hybrid instruction, and 
fully in-person instruction.

���� The performance audits, at 
minimum, shall include:

���� (1)� an examination of the 
school district�s fiscal operations from March, 2020 through the end of the 
2020-2021 school year;

���� (2)� a determination of 
whether the school district exhibited best practices and safeguards with 
respect to the use of public funds provided to the school district in response 
to the COVID-19 public health emergency; and

���� (3)� a determination of 
whether the school district implemented meaningful measures to provide cost 
savings for the school district as a whole, or with respect to specific school 
buildings located in the school district, in response to the COVID-19 public 
health emergency.

���� b.��� The Office of the State 
Auditor shall submit to the Governor, the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of 
P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Commissioner of Education, the General 
Assembly Education Committee, or its successor, and the Senate Education 
Committee, or its successor, a report summarizing the school district 
performance audits performed by the office pursuant to subsection a. of this 
section.� The State Auditor shall also transmit the report to the board of 
education of each school district in the State and post the report on the State 
Auditor�s website.

���� 2.��� This act shall take 
effect immediately. 

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the Office 
of the State Auditor to conduct performance audits on school districts in the 
State to determine any cost savings and fraudulent uses of public funds during 
or related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.� The bill provides that the 
State Auditor will conduct the performance audits on a random sampling of 
school districts, the sample size of which will be at the discretion of the 
State Auditor.� The State Auditor will ensure that the sampling of school 
districts includes school districts from each of the northern, central, and 
southern regions of the State and that the sampling of school districts within 
each region of the State includes school districts that employed the various 
primary modes of instruction during the COVID-19 public health emergency, 
including entirely virtual instruction, hybrid instruction, and fully in-person 
instruction.

���� Under the bill, the 
performance audits, at minimum, will include:

���� (1)� an examination of the 
school district�s fiscal operations from March, 2020 through the end of the 
2020-2021 school year;

���� (2)� a determination of 
whether the school district exhibited best practices and safeguards with 
respect to the use of public funds provided to the school district in response 
to the COVID-19 public health emergency; and

���� (3)� a determination of 
whether the school district implemented meaningful measures to provide cost 
savings for the school district as a whole, or with respect to specific school 
buildings located in the school district, in response to the COVID-19 public 
health emergency.

���� Finally, the bill requires 
Office of the State Auditor to submit to the Governor, the Legislature, the 
Commissioner of Education, the General Assembly Education Committee, and the 
Senate Education Committee a report summarizing the school district performance 
audits performed by the of