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A1943 • 2026

Requires DOE to develop credential to introduce teachers to culturally responsive teaching practices, characteristics, and methods.

Requires DOE to develop credential to introduce teachers to culturally responsive teaching practices, characteristics, and methods.

Education
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Quijano, Annette
Last action
2026-01-13
Official status
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Requires DOE to develop credential to introduce teachers to culturally responsive teaching practices, characteristics, and methods.

Requires DOE to develop credential to introduce teachers to culturally responsive teaching practices, characteristics, and methods.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires DOE to develop credential to introduce teachers to culturally responsive teaching practices, characteristics, and methods.
  • Topic: Education Fiscal note: This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-01-13 New Jersey Legislature

    Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee

Official Summary Text

Requires DOE to develop credential to introduce teachers to culturally responsive teaching practices, characteristics, and methods.
Topic:
Education
Fiscal note:
This bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
A1943

ASSEMBLY, No. 1943

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO

District 20 (Union)

Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires DOE to develop credential to introduce
teachers to culturally responsive teaching practices, characteristics, and
methods.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

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

��

An Act
establishing a culturally responsive teaching
credential and supplementing chapter 26 of Title 18A of the New Jersey
Statutes.�

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

���� 1.��� The Department of
Education, in partnership with the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers
Initiative of the Council of Chief State School Officers or other equivalent
entity, shall develop a credential for culturally responsive teaching.� The
purpose of the credential shall be to introduce teachers to culturally
responsive teaching practices, characteristics, and methods that acknowledge,
respond to, and embrace the cultural backgrounds of all students to help ensure
full, equitable access to education.� The credential for culturally responsive
teaching shall be made available to teachers beginning in the first full school
year following the date of enactment of this act.�

���� As used in this section,
�culturally responsive teaching� means a pedagogy that recognizes the
importance of including students� cultural references in all aspects of
learning, and which uses research-based teaching strategies that make
meaningful connections between what students learn in school and their
cultures, languages, and experiences.�

���� 2.��� The State Board of
Education shall promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the �Administrative
Procedure Act,� P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as it may deem necessary
to effectuate the provisions of this act.�

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill directs the Department
of Education, in partnership with the Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers
Initiative or equivalent entity, to develop a credential for culturally
responsive teaching.� The Diverse and Learner-Ready Teachers Initiative is an
effort of the Council of Chief State School Officers, which strives to revise,
enact or remove state policies that will address specific challenges for both
diversifying the educator workforce and ensuring all educators are culturally
responsive in practice.�

���� Under the bill, the purpose of
the credential would be to introduce teachers to culturally responsive teaching
practices, characteristics, and methods that acknowledge, respond to, and
embrace the cultural backgrounds of all students to help ensure full, equitable
access to education.� The credential for culturally responsive teaching will be
made available to teachers beginning in the first full school year following
the date of enactment of the bill.�

���� As defined in the bill, culturally
responsive teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including
students� cultural references in all aspects of learning, and which uses
research-based teaching strategies that make meaningful connections between
what students learn in school and their cultures, languages, and experiences.