New Jersey S 4259: Establishes four-year Performing Arts Education Improvement Grant Program.

Bill Text

S4259 

SENATE, No. 4259 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

� 

INTRODUCED MAY 14, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� LINDA R. GREENSTEIN

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Diegnan

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes four-year Performing Arts Education 
Improvement Grant Program. 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT 

���� As introduced.

�� 

An Act establishing a grant program to support performing arts 
education in school districts.

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

���� 1.� The Commissioner of 
Education shall develop and administer a four-year Performing Arts Education 
Improvement Grant Program.� The purpose of the program shall be to award grants 
to school districts to bolster educational programming and academic enrichment 
opportunities in the performing arts.� The commissioner shall consult with the 
New Jersey State Council on the Arts in the Department of State regarding the 
design and administration of the grant program.� 

���� 2.� a.� The Commissioner of 
Education shall award grants, within the limit of funds appropriated to or 
otherwise made available for the program, to selected school districts to be 
used for the development and improvement of educational opportunities in the 
performing arts and to assist districts in implementing comprehensive 
performing arts education programs that are consistent with the New Jersey 
Student Learning Standards in Visual and Performing Arts.� 

���� b.� A school district that 
wants to apply for a grant shall submit an application to the commissioner in a 
manner and form to be determined by the commissioner.� A school district shall 
demonstrate in its application that a majority of the schools in the district 
have high concentrations of multilingual learners, students in resource family 
care, students from rural areas of the State, or at-risk pupils as defined 
pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-45).� In addition, the 
application shall include:

���� (1)� an overview of the school 
district�s current educational offerings and programming in the performing 
arts;

���� (2)� a description of the 
school district�s need for additional funds to develop or enhance performing 
arts education programs;

���� (3)� details on performing 
arts programming that may be expanded or created following the school 
district�s receipt of a grant, including related costs, any other funds that 
will be used to supplement the school district�s proposal, and the projected 
demand for any expanded or new programming; 

���� (4)� the number of students 
that may be accommodated in a performing arts program that is expanded or newly 
created as a result of the school district�s receipt of a grant;

���� (5)� a plan to sustain any 
expanded or new performing arts education programs beyond the period of grant 
funding using other State, federal, and local resources; and

���� (6)� any other information the 
commissioner deems appropriate.� 

���� c.� The commissioner shall 
select 10 school districts to receive grants under the grant program and 
determine the amount of each grant award.� The commissioner may award 
multi-year grants.� 

���� d.� A school district selected 
for a grant under the grant program may use the proceeds of the grant for 
purposes including, but not limited to, the:

���� (1)� purchase of performing 
arts-related materials, equipment, and supplies; 

���� (2)� provision of professional 
development opportunities and other training to performing arts teachers 
currently employed by the school district; 

���� (3)� development of programs 
to assist students interested in the performing arts in navigating the 
transition from elementary school, middle school, and high school, as well as 
to potential higher education opportunities or careers in the performing arts; 
and

���� (4)� the development of 
tutoring and extracurricular programs in the performing arts.

���� 3.� a.� At the conclusion of 
each school year in which a school district receives a grant under the Performing 
Arts Education Improvement Grant Program, the school district shall submit a 
report to the Commissioner of Education containing, at a minimum: 

���� (1)� the number of performing 
arts education programs that were expanded or created as the result of a grant, 
including a breakdown of student participation by grade level and descriptions 
of each program; 

���� (2)� an explanation of how 
grant funds were used to expand or create performing arts education programs; 
and

���� (3) a narrative description of 
the benefits of the receipt of a grant. 

���� b.� Following the conclusion 
of the grant program, the commissioner shall submit a report to the Governor, 
and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), 
that contains a summary of the information submitted to the commissioner 
pursuant to subsection a. of this section.� The report shall also include the 
comm