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A118
ASSEMBLY, No. 118
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman AL BARLAS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
Assemblyman CHRISTOPHER P. DEPHILLIPS
District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires school districts to let nonpublic school
students participate in district high school interscholastic athletics.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act
concerning school district interscholastic sports
programs and supplementing chapter 11 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.� A board of education shall permit a student who attends a nonpublic
school and meets the eligibility requirements for student athletes established
by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to try out for,
and participate in, a school-sponsored high school interscholastic athletics
team or squad in the student�s district of residence in accordance with the
same criteria established for students enrolled in the district.� Any
controversy concerning a student�s compliance with the eligibility requirements
for student-athletes established by the New Jersey State Interscholastic
Athletic Association shall be adjudicated by the association in accordance with
its constitution and by-laws.
����� A
student who attends a nonpublic school who wishes to compete on a
school-sponsored high school interscholastic athletics team or squad in the
resident district shall:
����� (1)�
provide proof of residence in the district; and
����� (2)�
meet the sports participation requirements established by the school district
for students enrolled in the district, such as those regarding physical
examinations, insurance, fees, age, academic, and other requirements.� A
nonpublic school student shall comply with the same standards of behavior,
responsibilities, and performance as all other members of the team or squad.
����� b.
�
A student who withdraws from a school district to
enroll in a nonpublic school and who is ineligible to participate in
interscholastic athletics at the time of withdrawal from the school district
due to failure to meet academic, behavioral, or eligibility standards, shall be
ineligible to compete in interscholastic athletic competition in accordance
with the rules of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.
�������
c.�� A board of education may charge a student who
participates in a school-sponsored high school interscholastic athletics team
or squad pursuant to this section, other than a student with financial
hardship, a fee no greater than the actual cost per pupil of participating in
the sport.� In determining financial hardship the criteria shall be the same as
the Statewide eligibility standards established by the State Board of Education
for free and reduced price meals under the State school lunch program.
����� d.�� Nothing
in this section shall be construed to require a school district to provide
transportation services or pay transportation costs associated with a nonpublic
school student�s participation in interscholastic athletics pursuant to the
provisions of this section.
����� e.�� Nothing
in this section shall be construed to require a school district to change the
schedules, procedures, or participation requirements of an interscholastic
athletics team or squad to accommodate a nonpublic school student who wishes to
participate in interscholastic athletics pursuant to the provisions of this
section.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the third month next following the date of
enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires school
districts to allow students who attend nonpublic schools to try out for, and
participate in, a high school interscholastic athletics team or squad in the
student�s district of residence.� The nonpublic school student is required to
provide proof of residence in the district, and to meet the sports
participation requirements established by the district for students enrolled in
the district such as physical examination, insurance, fees, age, and academic
requirements.� The nonpublic school student is also to comply with the same
standards of behavior, responsibilities, and performance as all other members
of the team or squad.
���� A board of education may
charge a nonpublic school student, other than a student with financial
hardship, a fee no greater than the actual cost per pupil of participating in
the sport.