Creates pilot program to fund adult education programs for residents of certain communities.

S3439

SENATE, No. 3439

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 9, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JAMES BEACH

District 6 (Burlington and Camden)

SYNOPSIS

���� Creates pilot program to fund adult education
programs for residents of certain communities.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning the provision of additional State
school aid for certain adult education students and supplementing P.L.2007,
c.260 (C.18A:7F-43 et al.).

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

����� 1.�� a.�
As used in this section, �eligible pupil� means an individual who is enrolled
in an approved adult education program and resides in a municipality that is

part of a school district that, in the 2016-2017 school year, had a four-year
adjusted cohort high school graduation rate in the bottom quintile of all
school districts in the State for which a four-year adjusted cohort high school
graduation rate was calculated.

����� b.�� There
is established an adult high school pilot program to be administered by the
Commissioner of Education.� The purpose of the pilot program shall be to
provide State support for approved adult high school programs providing
educational opportunities in career and technical fields to individuals who do
not hold a high school diploma.

����� c.�� For
the 2020-2021 school year, and for each of the subsequent four school years,
State aid shall be distributed on an unweighted per pupil basis for eligible
pupils enrolled in an approved adult high school program.� In the 2020-2021 school
year, a school district shall receive $1,500 per eligible pupil enrolled in an
approved adult high school program operated by the school district.� In each
subsequent school year, the State aid amount per eligible pupil shall be
increased by the CPI.

����� d.�� No
later than January 1, 2026, the Commissioner of Education 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 summarizing the outcomes of the pilot program.� The
report shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:

����� (1)� the
total number of pupils for whom State aid was provided in each school year;

����� (2)� the
number of pupils for whom State aid was provided who received a locally-issued,
State-endorsed diploma;

����� (3)� the
number of school districts that developed approved adult education programs
after the pilot program began; and

����� (4)� a
recommendation regarding whether the program should be made permanent on a
Statewide basis.

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

STATEMENT

����
This bill would
establish a five-year pilot program
to provide State funding for certain students enrolled in adult education
programs.� Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, a school district that
operates an approved adult high school program will receive $1,500 in adult
education aid for each eligible pupil enrolled in the program.� An eligible
pupil is defined as one who resides in a municipality that is part of a school
district that, in the 2016-2017 school year, ranked in the bottom 20 percent
Statewide with respect to the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.� The
bill also requires the Commissioner of Education to submit a report summarizing
the outcomes of the pilot program.