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A1148
ASSEMBLY, No. 1148
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires four-year public institution of higher
education to admit certain students diagnosed with cancer and sickle cell
anemia.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning admission to four-year public institutions
of higher education and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey
Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� Notwithstanding any
other provision of law or regulation to the contrary, a four-year public
institution of higher education shall offer admission to an undergraduate
degree program to eligible students diagnosed with cancer or sickle cell anemia
before the age of 24.
���� b.� To be eligible for
admission pursuant to subsection a. of this section, an individual shall be a
resident of the State for at least one year and be less than 24 years of age at
the time of application.
���� c.� A four-year public
institution of higher education shall establish policies to prioritize
admissions, institutional financial aid, and on-campus housing for students
admitted pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
���� d.� An institution may deny
admission to a student who otherwise qualifies for admission pursuant to
subsection b. of this section if the institution identifies a compelling reason
for the denial. The institution shall submit information on a denial of admission
pursuant to this subsection to the Secretary of Higher Education, who may
override an institution�s decision to deny admission to a student.
���� e.� Nothing in this section
shall be construed to require an institution to waive its admission standards
and application procedures for any specialized program, department, or school
of the institution.
���� 2.��� A four-year public
institution of higher education shall annually report to the Secretary of
Higher Education on the number of students enrolled in the institution who
received automatic admission pursuant to section 1 of this act. The secretary
shall annually report the total number of students enrolled in all four-year
public institutions of higher education who received admission pursuant to
section 1 of this act to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1).
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year
following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires four-year
public institutions of higher education to offer admission to certain students
diagnosed with cancer and sickle cell anemia.
���� The bill requires each
four-year public institution of higher education to provide admission to
certain students diagnosed with cancer or sickle cell anemia before the age of
24. To be eligible for admission, a student is required to be a resident of the
State for at least one year and be less than 24 years of age at the time of
application.
���� Under the bill, an institution
is prohibited from denying admission to an individual diagnosed with cancer or
sickle cell anemia, unless the institution has a compelling reason to deny
admission. The bill permits the Secretary of Higher Education to override the
admission decision of an institution.
���� Finally, the bill requires
each institution to annually report to the Secretary of Higher Education and
requires the secretary to submit an annual report to the Governor and the
Legislature.