Establishes New Jersey Student Educator Tuition Remission Program.

A1383

ASSEMBLY, No. 1383

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ELLEN J. PARK

District 37 (Bergen)

Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY

District 18 (Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes New Jersey Student Educator Tuition
Remission Program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
establishing the New Jersey Student Educator Tuition
Remission Program and supplementing chapter 71B of Title 18A of the New Jersey
Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� As used in this act:

���� �Approved program of study�
means an undergraduate program leading to a bachelor's degree offered by a
four-year public institution of higher education; or a graduate program leading
to a master's degree offered by a public institution of higher education in the
State.

���� �Authority� means the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority.

���� �Certificate of eligibility
with advanced standing� means an instructional certificate with lifetime
validity issued by the State Board of Examiners to candidates who meet degree,
academic, and test requirements for teacher certification and complete an educator
preparation program.

���� �Clinical practice� means the
culminating field-based experience or internship required by an educator
preparation program.

���� �Eligible student� means a
student completing required clinical practice through a certificate of
eligibility with advanced standing educator preparation program at a public
institution of higher education.

���� �Eligible tuition expenses�
means tuition expenses that were incurred by a program participant in attending
an approved course of study while completing clinical practice towards a
certificate of eligible with advanced standing.

���� �Program� means the New Jersey
Student Educator Tuition Remission Program.

���� 2.��� a.� There is established
in the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, in coordination with the
Department of Education, the New Jersey Student Educator Tuition Remission
Program. The purpose of the program shall be to reduce financial barriers to
teacher certification.

���� b.� Under the program, the
authority shall provide remission of eligible tuition expenses to eligible
students for each semester of clinical practice completed by a student. A
student shall be eligible to receive tuition remission under the program for a
maximum of two academic semesters. Tuition remission provided to an eligible
student shall not exceed a student�s eligible tuition expenses.

���� 3.��� a.� To be eligible for
tuition remission under the program, an applicant shall:

���� (1) be a United States
citizen, permanent resident alien, or any student eligible to complete the New
Jersey Alternative Financial Aid Application;

���� (2) be a resident of the
State;

���� (3) be enrolled on a full-time
basis in an approved program of study; and

���� (4) complete any steps
required by the approved program of study necessary to be eligible to apply for
clinical practice.

���� b.� The authority, in
coordination with the department, may establish additional eligibility
requirements and minimum qualifications for the program, including limiting the
program to students seeking degrees in math, science, special education, world
languages, bilingual education, or other subjects determined to be in high
demand for educators by the department.

���� c. A student�s tuition
remission shall continue provided the student achieves satisfactory academic
progress as defined by the institution and continues to meet the eligibility
and minimum qualifications established pursuant to subsections a. and b. of this
section.

���� d. (1) The tuition remission
shall be terminated if a student is dismissed from the public institution of
higher education or educator preparation program for academic or disciplinary
reasons, is disqualified from employment by a school district due to the
detection of criminal history record information pursuant to section 1 of
P.L.1986, c.116 (C.18A:6-7.1), or otherwise becomes ineligible to receive a
certificate of eligibility with advanced standing from the Board of Examiners,
and the student shall be required to repay the full amount of any tuition
remission received under the program as a debt to the State.

���� (2) The tuition remission
shall be terminated if a student withdraws from an approved program of study
due to the student�s illness, the illness of a member of the student�s
immediate family, or a family emergency, but the student shall not be required
to repay the amount of any tuition remission received under the program.

���� 4.��� Within 90 days of the
effective date of this act, the authority shall establish an application
process to provide tuition remission to eligible students under the New Jersey
Student Educator Tuition Remission Program established pursuant to section 2 of
this act. No later than the first day of the fourth month next following the
effective date of this act, the authority shall make the application available,
and shall, within a reasonable time frame thereafter, commence approving
applications for the program.

���� 5.��� Nothing in this act
shall be construed to exempt a student from meeting educator certification
requirements in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the State
Board of Education.

���� 6.��� The Legislature shall
annually appropriate from the General Fund to the Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority amounts as may be necessary for the New Jersey Student
Educator Tuition Remission Program established pursuant to this act.

���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year
following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill establishes the New
Jersey Student Educator Tuition Remission Program to reduce financial barriers
to teacher certification.

���� Under the bill, the program is
to provide tuition remission, up to a student�s full eligible tuition expenses,
to students completing required clinical practice through a certificate of
eligibility with advanced standing educator preparation program at a public
institution of higher education. A student is eligible to receive tuition
remission for a maximum of two academic semesters.

���� To be eligible for tuition
remission, an applicant is required to: be a United States citizen, permanent
resident alien, or any student eligible to complete the New Jersey Alternative
Financial Aid Application; be a resident of the State; be enrolled full time in
an approved program of study; and complete the necessary steps to apply for
clinical practice.

���� The Higher Education Student
Assistance Authority, in coordination with the Department of Education, may
establish additional eligibility requirements and minimum qualifications for
the program. Additionally, the authority, in coordination with the department,
is to annually collect data on the program.

���� Finally, the bill stipulates
that a student�s tuition remission be terminated and required to be repaid if a
student: is dismissed from the program of study for academic or disciplinary
reasons, is disqualified from employment by a school district due to the
detection of criminal history record information under current law, or becomes
ineligible to receive a certificate of eligibility with advanced standing for
any other reason. The bill also stipulates that tuition remission is to be
terminated if the student withdraws due to illness, but the student would not
be required to repay the tuition remission.