Establishes four-year Career and Technical Education Partnership Grant Program.

A1485

ASSEMBLY, No. 1485

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Assemblyman CLINTON CALABRESE

District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)

Assemblywoman MARGIE DONLON, M.D.

District 11 (Monmouth)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Peterpaul

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes four-year Career and Technical Education
Partnership Grant Program.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
establishing a Career and Technical Education
Partnership Grant Program in the Department of Education.

����
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 Career and Technical
Education Partnership Grant Program.� The purpose of the program shall be to
award grants to county vocational school districts and other school districts
that operate approved career and technical education programs or programs of
study, to partner with urban districts, other school districts, county
colleges, and other entities to create high-quality career and technical
education programs in existing facilities. �The commissioner shall consult with
the New Jersey Council of County Vocational Schools and employer
representatives regarding the design of the grant program.

���� 2.��� a.���� The commissioner
shall award grants, within the limit of available State appropriations, to
selected county vocational school districts and other school districts that
operate approved career and technical education programs or programs of study,
to be used to support the development and implementation of a career and
technical education program in an existing school or college facility that is
not owned or leased by the county vocational school district or the school
district that operates an approved career and technical education program or
program of study. The commissioner shall determine the amount of each grant
awarded under the program and may award multi-year grants.

���� b.��� A county vocational
school district or school district that operates an approved career and
technical education program or program of study that wants to apply for a grant
shall submit an application to the commissioner. The application shall include:

���� (1)�� a description of the
career and technical education partnership program to be developed with the
grant funding;

���� (2)�� a description of the
partnership with the school district, county college, or other entity that will
host the program including, but not limited to, the responsibilities of each
partner for providing education and support services to students and teacher
supervision and professional development;

���� (3)�� a description of any
partnerships with local employers that will support the proposed career and
technical education partnership program by advising on curriculum, offering
work-based learning opportunities, providing equipment or resources, or other
assistance;

���� (4)�� the number of students
that could be accommodated in the career and technical education partnership
program over each of the four years of the grant program and in future years;

���� (5)�� the projected demand for
the career and technical education partnership program;

���� (6)�� an explanation of
whether the proposed partnership will replicate an existing approved career and
technical education program at the county vocational school or the school
district operating an approved career and technical education program or
program of study, or if new approval will be sought;

���� (7)�� the location of the
facility in which the partnership program will be located and whether the
location is conducive to serving the populations targeted by the career and
technical education partnership program;

���� (8)�� the estimated start-up
and initial operational costs of the proposed partnership program, including
the cost of any facility repairs or modification, equipment and supplies,
curriculum development and materials, and professional salaries;

���� (9)�� an explanation of why
the facilities of the county vocational school district or the school district
operating an approved career and technical education program or program of
study could not accommodate the new career and technical education program;

���� (10)��� the plan to sustain
the career and technical education partnership program beyond the period of
grant funding using other State, federal, and local resources; and

���� (11) any other information
that the commissioner deems appropriate.

���� 3.��� 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), four years after the establishment of the
Career and Technical Education
Partnership Grant
Program. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, information on
the number of grant applicants, the number of grant awards, the number of
career and technical education partnership programs established under the grant
program, the number of students who completed the career and technical
education partnership programs established under the grant program, the costs
and any savings realized through the sharing of facilities under the grant
program, and a recommendation on the establishment of a permanent source of
funding for such career and technical education partnership programs.

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the
Commissioner of Education to establish a four-year Career and Technical
Education Partnership Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to create an
incentive program in which grants are awarded to county vocational school districts
and other school districts that operate approved career and technical education
programs or programs of study, to partner with urban districts, other school
districts, county colleges, and other entities to create high-quality career
and technical education programs in existing facilities.

���� Under the bill, the
commissioner will develop and administer the grant program. The commissioner
will award grants, within the limit of State appropriations, to selected county
vocational school districts and other school districts that operate approved career
and technical education programs or programs of study to support the
development and implementation of a career and technical education program in
an existing school or college facility that is not owned or leased by the grant
recipient. The commissioner will determine the amount of each grant awarded
under the program and may award multi-year grants.� The bill specifies the
information that will be included in the grant application.

���� Four years following the grant
program�s establishment, the commissioner will submit a report to the Governor
and the Legislature on the outcomes of the grant program that includes a
recommendation on the establishment of a permanent source of funding for such
career and technical education partnership programs.

���� The grant program established
pursuant to this bill is modeled on the County Vocational School District
Partnership Grant Program established pursuant to P.L.2014, c.73 (C.18A:6-132
et seq.).� Grants were provided pursuant to that four-year grant program in FY
2015 through FY 2018 and were available only to county vocational school
districts.� The grant program established under this bill would permit school
districts that operate approved career and technical education programs or
programs of study to also be eligible to receive the grants.