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A4204
ASSEMBLY, No. 4204
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes pilot program in DOE to use therapy dogs
in public elementary school wellness programs.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing a pilot program in the Department of
Education on the use of therapy dogs in public elementary school wellness
programs.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� The Commissioner of
Education shall establish a three-year pilot program to assess the academic and
health benefits associated with the use of therapy dogs in public elementary
school wellness programs.
���� b.��� A school district that
wants to participate in the pilot program shall submit an application to the
commissioner.� The application shall include, but need not be limited to: the
number of elementary schools in the school district; the number of students enrolled
in each elementary school; information on student participation in wellness
programs at each elementary school; and information on how the school district
plans to use therapy dogs to promote student wellness.
���� c.���� The commissioner shall
select two districts in each of the southern, central, and northern regions of
the State to participate in the program and shall seek a cross section of
school districts from urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State.
���� d.��� The commission shall
provide pilot districts with guidance regarding the use of therapy dogs in
schools including: examples of activities that students may engage in with a
therapy dog; recommended training requirements for therapy dog handlers;
recommended measures to evaluate the health and appropriate behavior of therapy
dogs; and insurance issues relevant to having therapy dogs on school district
property.
���� e.���� No later than June 30
of the third school year following the establishment of the pilot program, the
commissioner shall submit to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to
section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C:52:14-19.1), a report that evaluates the effectiveness
of the pilot program in improving the academic performance and health outcomes
of students in elementary schools.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes a
three-year pilot program to assess the academic and health benefits associated
with the use of therapy dogs in public elementary school wellness programs.� A
therapy dog is a dog that has been trained, evaluated, and registered with a
handler to provide animal assisted therapy and other animal assisted activities
within a school or other facility.� Some research suggests that the use of
therapy dogs in schools is associated with improvements in school attendance,
confidence, motivation, and reading and writing skills.
���� Under the bill, a school
district that wants to participate in the pilot program is required to submit
an application to the commissioner.� The application is required to include,
but need not be limited to: the number of elementary schools in the school
district; the number of students enrolled in each elementary school;
information on student participation in wellness programs at each elementary
school; and information on how the school district plans to use therapy dogs to
promote student wellness.
���� The commissioner will select
two districts in each of the southern, central, and northern regions of the
State to participate in the program and will seek a cross section of school
districts from urban, suburban, and rural areas of the State.
���� The commission will provide
pilot districts with guidance regarding the use of therapy dogs in schools
including: examples of activities that students may engage in with a therapy
dog; recommended training requirements for therapy dog handlers; recommended
measures to evaluate the health and appropriate behavior of therapy dogs; and
insurance issues relevant to having therapy dogs on school district property.
���� No later than June 30 of the
third school year following the establishment of the pilot program, the
commissioner will submit to the Governor and to the Legislature a report that
evaluates the effectiveness of the pilot program in improving the academic performance
and health outcomes of students in elementary schools.