Requires school districts to provide access to preschool and submit plan for preschool implementation.

A4561

ASSEMBLY, No. 4561

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman� MICHAEL VENEZIA

District 34 (Essex)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires school districts to provide access to
preschool and submit plan for preschool implementation.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning preschool education,
amending
N.J.S.18A:38-1, and
supplementing chapter 44 of
Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1. (New section) a. Notwithstanding
the provisions of section 12 of P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) or any other law,
rule, or regulation to the contrary, the board of education of a school
district serving elementary grades shall establish a preschool program for
resident three- and four-year old children no later than the beginning of the
2029-2030 school year; provided, however, that a district not providing a
preschool program prior to the effective date of P.L.��� , c.���� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill) may satisfy the requirements of
this subsection by entering a sending-receiving relationship with a preschool
program established by the board of education of an adjacent school district.
The tuition of students attending a preschool program in another district in
accordance with a sending-receiving agreement shall be determined in accordance
with N.J.S.18A:38-19. Attendance at a preschool program shall be free in
accordance with the requirements of N.J.S.18A:38-1.

���� b. A school district that does
not provide a preschool program prior to the effective date of P.L.��� , c.����
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall submit to the
Commissioner of Education no later than June 30, 2027, a plan for the
establishment of a preschool program in accordance with the provisions of
subsection a. of this section.

���� c. A school district that
establishes a preschool program in accordance with subsection a. of this
section shall be eligible to receive State aid pursuant to section 12 of
P.L.2007, c.260 (C.18A:7F-54) and section 6 of P.L.2025, c.100 (C.18A:7F-54.1).

���� d. As used in this section,
�preschool program� means free, full-day preschool that meets all program
requirements for high-quality preschool pursuant to regulations adopted by the
commissioner and is operated by the district or in partnership with a licensed
child care provider or Head Start program.

���� 2. N.J.S.18A:38-1 is amended
to read as follows:

���� 18A:38-1.� Public schools
shall be free to the following persons over
[
five
]

three

and under 20 years of age:�

Any person who is domiciled within
the school district;

���� b. (1) Any person who is kept
in the home of another person domiciled within the school district and is
supported by such other person gratis as if he were such other person's own
child, upon filing by such other person with the secretary of the board of
education of the district, if so required by the board, a sworn statement that
he is domiciled within the district and is supporting the child gratis and will
assume all personal obligations for the child relative to school requirements
and that he intends so to keep and support the child gratuitously for a longer
time than merely through the school term, and a copy of his lease if a tenant,
or a sworn statement by his landlord acknowledging his tenancy if residing as a
tenant without a written lease, and upon filing by the child's parent or
guardian with the secretary of the board of education a sworn statement that he
is not capable of supporting or providing care for the child due to a family or
economic hardship and that the child is not residing with the resident of the
district solely for the purpose of receiving a free public education within the
district.� The statement shall be accompanied by documentation to support the
validity of the sworn statements, information from or about which shall be supplied
only to the board and only to the extent that it directly pertains to the
support or nonsupport of the child.� If in the judgment of the board of
education the evidence does not support the validity of the claim by the
resident, the board may deny admission to the child.� The resident may contest
the board's decision to the commissioner within 21 days of the date of the
decision and shall be entitled to an expedited hearing before the commissioner
on the validity of the claim and shall have the burden of proof by a
preponderance of the evidence that the child is eligible for a free education
under the criteria listed in this subsection.� The board of education shall, at
the time of its decision, notify the resident in writing of his right to
contest the board's decision to the commissioner within 21 days.� No child
shall be denied admission during the pendency of the proceedings before the
commissioner.� In the event the child is currently enrolled in the district,
the student shall not be removed from school during the 21-day period in which
the resident may contest the board's decision nor during the pendency of the
proceedings before the commissioner.� If in the judgment of the commissioner
the evidence does not support the claim of the resident, he shall assess the
resident tuition for the student prorated to the time of the student's
ineligible attendance in the school district. Tuition shall be computed on the
basis of 1/180 of the total annual per pupil cost to the local district
multiplied by the number of days of ineligible attendance and shall be
collected in the manner in which orders of the commissioner are enforced.�
Nothing shall preclude a board from collecting tuition from the resident,
parent or guardian for a student's period of ineligible attendance in the
schools of the district where the issue is not appealed to the commissioner;

���� (2)�� If the superintendent or
administrative principal of a school district finds that the parent or guardian
of a child who is attending the schools of the district is not domiciled within
the district and the child is not kept in the home of another person domiciled
within the school district and supported by him gratis as if the child was the
person's own child as provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the
superintendent or administrative principal may apply to the board of education
for the removal of the child.� The parent or guardian shall be entitled to a
hearing before the board and if in the judgment of the board the parent or
guardian is not domiciled within the district or the child is not kept in the
home of another person domiciled within the school district and supported by
him gratis as if the child was the person's own child as provided for in
paragraph (1) of this subsection, the board may order the transfer or removal
of the child from school.� The parent or guardian may contest the board's
decision before the commissioner within 21 days of the date of the decision and
shall be entitled to an expedited hearing before the commissioner and shall
have the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the child is
eligible for a free education under the criteria listed in this subsection.�
The board of education shall, at the time of its decision, notify the parent or
guardian in writing of his right to contest the decision within 21 days.� No
child shall be removed from school during the 21-day period in which the parent
may contest the board's decision or during the pendency of the proceedings
before the commissioner.� If in the judgment of the commissioner the evidence
does not support the claim of the parent or guardian, the commissioner shall
assess the parent or guardian tuition for the student prorated to the time of
the student's ineligible attendance in the schools of the district.� Tuition
shall be computed on the basis of 1/180 of the total annual per pupil cost to
the local district multiplied by the number of days of ineligible attendance
and shall be collected in the manner in which orders of the commissioner are
enforced.� Nothing shall preclude a board from collecting tuition from the
parent or guardian for a student's period of ineligible attendance in the
schools of the district where the issue is not appealed to the commissioner;

���� The provisions of this section
requiring proof of support, custody or tenancy shall not apply to a person
keeping a child in his home whose parent or guardian is a member of the New
Jersey National Guard or a member of the reserve component of the armed forces
of the United States and who has been ordered into active military service in
any of the armed forces of the United States in time of war or national
emergency.� In such a situation, the child shall be eligible to enroll in the
district in which he is being kept, and no tuition shall be charged by the
district.� Following the return of the child's parent or guardian from active
military service, the child's eligibility for enrollment without tuition in the
district in which he or she is being kept shall cease at the end of the current
school year;

���� c.���� Any person who
fraudulently allows a child of another person to use his residence and is not
the primary financial supporter of that child and any person who fraudulently
claims to have given up custody of his child to a person in another district
commits a disorderly persons offense;

���� d.��� Any person whose parent
or guardian, even though not domiciled within the district, is residing
temporarily therein, but any person who has had or shall have his
all-year-round dwelling place within the district for one year or longer shall
be deemed to be domiciled within the district for the purposes of this section;

���� e.���� Any person for whom the
Division of Youth and Family Services in the Department of Children and
Families is acting as guardian and who is placed in the district by the
division;

���� f.���� Any person whose parent
or guardian moves from one school district to another school district as a
result of being homeless and whose district of residence is determined pursuant
to section 19 of P.L.1979, c.207 (C.18A:7B-12).� On or before December 31 of
each year, a public school shall report to the Office of Homelessness
Prevention in the Department of Community Affairs an accounting of each
instance in which the public school is made aware that a student enrolled in
the public school because the student's parent or guardian moved from one
school district to another school district as a result of being homeless.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.73, s.4)

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires school
districts to establish preschool programs for resident three- and four-year old
children no later than the start of the 2029-2030 school year. A school
district that does not currently provide a preschool program would be required
to submit a plan for the establishment of a preschool program to the
Commissioner of Education no later than June 30, 2027.

���� Under the bill, a preschool
program is defined as free, full-day preschool that meets all program
requirements for high-quality preschool pursuant to regulations adopted by the
commissioner and is operated by the school district or in partnership with a
licensed child care provider or Head Start program. A district would also be
able to fulfill the requirements of the bill by entering into a
sending-receiving relationship with a neighboring school district for the
provision of preschool services.

���� Finally, the bill amends a
section of law to provide that public school would be free for persons aged
three to 20. Under current law, public school is required to be free for
persons aged five to 20.