New Jersey A 5221: Eliminates requiring certain joint officials be from adjacent municipalities.

Bill Text

A5221 

ASSEMBLY, No. 5221 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

INTRODUCED JUNE 4, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� ROSAURA "ROSY" BAGOLIE

District 27 (Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Makes various changes to school funding law. 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� As introduced.

�� 

An Act concerning State school aid, amending various parts of 
the statutory law, and supplementing P.L.1996, c.138 and P.L.2007, c.260.

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

���� 1.��� Section 5 of P.L.1996, 
c.138 (C.18A:7F-5) is amended to read as follows:

���� 5.��� As used in this section, 
"cost of living" means the CPI as defined in section 3 of P.L.2007, 
c.260 (C.18A:7F-45).

���� a.���� Within 30 days 
following the approval of the Educational Adequacy Report, the commissioner 
shall notify each district of the base per pupil amount, the per pupil amounts 
for full-day preschool, the weights for grade level, county vocational school 
districts, at-risk pupils, bilingual pupils, and combination pupils, the cost 
coefficients for security aid and for transportation aid, [the State 
average classification rate and] 
the excess cost for general special education services pupils, [the State 
average classification rate and] 
the excess cost for speech-only pupils, and the geographic cost adjustment for 
each of the school years to which the report is applicable.

���� Annually, no later than 
August 1 of each year, the commissioner shall issue a public memorandum 
providing the timelines for the availability and certification of equalized 
valuation data and district income data from the Division of Taxation and the 
Department of Community Affairs, which data is utilized in the calculation of 
local share pursuant to section 10 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-52).

���� Beginning with State school 
aid calculated for the first full school year following the enactment of 
P.L.��� , c.���� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), 
the commissioner shall annually, within 15 days following the receipt of 
finalized equalized valuation and district income figures but no later than 
January 15, provide each district with a preliminary State aid notice that estimates 
the amount of State aid payable to the district in the succeeding school year 
pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.).

���� Annually, within two days 
following the transmittal of the State budget message to the Legislature by the 
Governor pursuant to section 11 of P.L.1944, c.112 (C.52:27B-20), the 
commissioner shall notify each district of the maximum amount of aid payable to 
the district in the succeeding school year pursuant to the provisions of 
P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.), and shall notify each district of the 
district's adequacy budget for the succeeding school year.

���� For the 2008-2009 school year 
and thereafter, unless otherwise specified within P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 
et al.), aid amounts payable for the budget year shall be based on budget year 
pupil counts, which shall be projected by the commissioner using data from 
prior years.� Adjustments for the actual pupil counts of the budget year shall 
be made to State aid amounts payable during the school year succeeding the 
budget year.� Additional amounts payable shall be reflected as revenue and an 
account receivable for the budget year.

���� Notwithstanding any other 
provision of this act to the contrary, each district's State aid payable for 
the 2008-2009 school year, with the exception of aid for school facilities 
projects, shall be based on simulations employing the various formulas and State 
aid amounts contained in P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.).� The 
commissioner shall prepare a report dated December 12, 2007 reflecting the 
State aid amounts payable by category for each district and shall submit the 
report to the Legislature prior to the adoption of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 
et al.).� Except as otherwise provided pursuant to this subsection and 
paragraph (3) of subsection d. of section 5 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-47), 
the amounts contained in the commissioner's report shall be the final amounts 
payable and shall not be subsequently adjusted other than to reflect the 
phase-in of the required general fund local levy pursuant to paragraph (4) of 
subsection b. of section 16 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-58) and to reflect 
school choice aid to which a district may be entitled pursuant to section 20 of 
that act. The projected pupil counts and equalized valuations used for the 
calculation of State aid shall also be used for the calculation of adequacy 
budget, local share, and required local share.� For 2008-2009, extraordinary 
special education State aid shall be included as a projected amount in the 
commissioner's report dated December 12, 2007 pending the final approval of 
applications for the aid.� If the actual award of extraordinary spe