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A4772
ASSEMBLY, No. 4772
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MARCH 19, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Scharfenberger and Assemblywoman Flynn
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires State Auditor to conduct performance audits
of certain school districts.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning performance audits of school districts by
the State Auditor and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� The Office of the
State Auditor shall conduct performance audits on school districts in the State
to determine any cost savings and fraudulent uses of public funds during or
related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.� The performance audits shall
be in addition to the audits required pursuant to subsection d. of section 6 of
P.L.1996, c.138 (C.18A:7F-6) and section 4 of P.L.2006, c.15 (C.18A:7A-57).�
The State Auditor shall conduct the performance audits required pursuant to
this section on a random sampling of school districts, the sample size of which
shall be at the discretion of the State Auditor.� The State Auditor shall
ensure that the sampling of school districts includes school districts from
each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State and that the
sampling of school districts within each region of the State includes school districts
that employed the primary modes of instruction during the COVID-19 public
health emergency, including fully remote instruction, hybrid instruction, and
fully in-person instruction.
���� The performance audits, at
minimum, shall include:
���� (1)� an examination of the
school district�s fiscal operations from March, 2020 through the end of the
2020-2021 school year;
���� (2)� a determination of
whether the school district exhibited best practices and safeguards with
respect to the use of public funds provided to the school district in response
to the COVID-19 public health emergency; and
���� (3)� a determination of
whether the school district implemented meaningful measures to provide cost
savings for the school district as a whole, or with respect to specific school
buildings located in the school district, in response to the COVID-19 public
health emergency.
���� b.��� The Office of the State
Auditor shall submit to the Governor, the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of
P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), the Commissioner of Education, the General
Assembly Education Committee, or its successor, and the Senate Education
Committee, or its successor, a report summarizing the school district
performance audits performed by the office pursuant to subsection a. of this
section.� The State Auditor shall also transmit the report to the board of
education of each school district in the State and post the report on the State
Auditor�s website.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires the Office
of the State Auditor to conduct performance audits on school districts in the
State to determine any cost savings and fraudulent uses of public funds during
or related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.� The bill provides that the
State Auditor will conduct the performance audits on a random sampling of
school districts, the sample size of which will be at the discretion of the
State Auditor.� The State Auditor will ensure that the sampling of school
districts includes school districts from each of the northern, central, and
southern regions of the State and that the sampling of school districts within
each region of the State includes school districts that employed the various
primary modes of instruction during the COVID-19 public health emergency,
including entirely virtual instruction, hybrid instruction, and fully in-person
instruction.
���� Under the bill, the
performance audits, at minimum, will include:
���� (1)� an examination of the
school district�s fiscal operations from March, 2020 through the end of the
2020-2021 school year;
���� (2)� a determination of
whether the school district exhibited best practices and safeguards with
respect to the use of public funds provided to the school district in response
to the COVID-19 public health emergency; and
���� (3)� a determination of
whether the school district implemented meaningful measures to provide cost
savings for the school district as a whole, or with respect to specific school
buildings located in the school district, in response to the COVID-19 public
health emergency.
���� Finally, the bill requires
Office of the State Auditor to submit to the Governor, the Legislature, the
Commissioner of Education, the General Assembly Education Committee, and the
Senate Education Committee a report summarizing the school district performance
audits performed by the office pursuant to the bill.� The State Auditor will
also transmit the report to the board of education of each school district in
the State and post the report on the State Auditor�s website.