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S3356
SENATE, No. 3356
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires Higher Education Student Assistance
Authority to develop pathway to nursing scholarship for health care workers who
want to become nurses; appropriates $1 million.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
establishing a nursing scholarship for certain
undergraduate students and supplementing chapter 71B of Title 18A of the New
Jersey Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� This act shall be known
and may be cited as the �Pathway to Nursing Scholarship Program Act.�
���� 2.��� As used in this act:
���� �Approved course of study�
means an undergraduate program leading to an associate�s degree or bachelor's
degree offered by a public or independent institution of higher education, or a
certificate of accreditation issued by the New Jersey Board of Nursing.
���� �Authority� means the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority established pursuant to N.J.S.18A:71A-3.
���� "Program" means the Pathway
to Nursing Scholarship Program established pursuant to section 3 of this act.
���� �School of professional
nursing� means a school in New Jersey offering a program of nursing instruction
not exceeding four years beyond high school, which is affiliated with a
hospital and holds a certificate of accreditation issued by the New Jersey
Board of Nursing.
���� 3.��� The authority, in
consultation with the New Jersey Board of Nursing, shall develop a pathway to
nursing scholarship program. The purpose of the scholarship program is to
address the current and projected critical shortage of nurses in the State by
providing an incentive for persons who currently work in the field of
healthcare to enter an approved course of study in a nursing education program to
ensure that sufficient numbers of trained nursing staff are available to
provide quality health care services to the residents of this State.
���� 4.��� To be eligible to
participate in the scholarship program, an applicant shall:
���� a.���� be a resident of the
State and maintain domicile in the State during participation in the program;
���� b.��� currently work in, or
have previously worked in, the healthcare industry;
���� c.���� be enrolled in an
approved course of study concerning nursing instruction at an institution of
higher education or at a school of professional nursing; and
���� d.��� submit a written
statement to the authority detailing the applicant�s ongoing commitment to
working as a nurse upon completion of an approved course of study concerning
nursing instruction at an institution of higher education or at a school of
professional nursing.
���� 5.��� a.� An individual who
wishes to participate in the scholarship program established pursuant to
section 3 of this act shall submit an application to the authority in a manner
and on such forms as determined by the authority.�
���� b.��� Under the program, the
authority shall award 100 scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each to
qualified recipients enrolled in an approved course of study concerning nursing
instruction at an institution of higher education or at a school of
professional nursing.
���� c.���� Each scholarship
awarded under this act shall be contingent upon the recipient remaining in good
standing at the institution or school of professional nursing.����
���� 6.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the authority the sum of $1,000,000 to effectuate the
purposes of this act.�
���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires the Higher
Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), in consultation with the New
Jersey Board of Nursing, to develop a pathway to nursing scholarship program.
The purpose of the scholarship program is to address the current and projected
critical shortage of nurses in the State by providing an incentive for persons
who currently work in the field of healthcare to enter an approved course of
study in a nursing education program to ensure that sufficient numbers of
trained nursing staff are available to provide quality health care services to
the residents of this State.
���� Under the bill, HESAA will
award 100 scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each to qualified recipients
enrolled in an approved course of study in a nursing education program in the
State. To be eligible for the scholarship, an applicant must: be a resident of
the State and maintain domicile in the State during participation in the
program; currently work in, or have previously worked in, the healthcare
industry; be enrolled in an approved course of study concerning nursing
instruction at an institution of higher education or at a school of
professional nursing; and submit a written statement to the authority detailing
the applicant�s ongoing commitment to working as a nurse upon completion of an
approved course of study concerning
nursing instruction at an institution of higher education or at a school of
professional nursing.
���� The bill appropriates $1
million from the General Fund to HESAA to effectuate the purposes of this act.�