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S4315
SENATE, No. 4315
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 21, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes School Ventilation and Energy Efficiency
Grant Program in DOE; appropriates $500 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning school facilities, supplementing
P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-1 et al.), and making an appropriation.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� a.� There is established
the School Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Grant Program in the Department of
Education. The Department of Education shall develop an application process to
allocate funds under the program and the Schools Development Authority shall
disburse funds under the program. The purpose of the program shall be to
repair, maintain, upgrade, replace, and install heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning systems in districts other than SDA districts to improve air
quality and energy efficiency in school buildings. Under the program, a school
district other than an SDA district may apply to the Commissioner of Education for
a grant, in a manner and form prescribed by the commissioner.
���� b.� The commissioner shall
establish ventilation and filtration standards for all proposed new or
replacement heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to be installed
using grant funds. The commissioner may also establish cost-effectiveness
standards for the program.
���� c.� The commissioner shall
establish a methodology for the awarding of grants under the program. The commissioner
shall prioritize projects in districts other than SDA districts located in
underserved communities in which at least 50 percent of students are eligible
to receive free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program.
���� d.� Grants provided under the
program shall provide no more than 75 percent of the costs of projects selected
by the commissioner. The State share payable to the district shall equal the
product of the project�s final eligible costs and the district aid percentage
or 40 percent, whichever is greater. The funding of the State share shall not
commence until the district secures financing for the local share.
���� e.� Grants under the program
shall be funded by moneys on deposit in the Regular Operating District
Construction and Maintenance Grants Fund established pursuant to section 14 of
P.L.2000, c.72 (C.18A:7G-14).
���� 2.��� There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Regular Operating District Construction and
Maintenance Grants Fund the sum of $500,000,000 for the purpose of providing
grants under the School Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Grant Program
established pursuant to section 1 of this act.
���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill establishes the
School Ventilation and Energy Efficiency Grant Program in the Department of
Education.
���� The purpose of the program is
to repair, maintain, upgrade, replace, and install heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning systems in districts other than SDA districts to improve air
quality and energy efficiency in school buildings. The Department of Education
will develop an application process to allocate funds under the program and the
Schools Development Authority will disburse the funds.
���� Under the bill, a school
district other than an SDA district may apply to the Commissioner of Education
for a grant, in a manner and form prescribed by the commissioner. The
commissioner will establish a methodology for the awarding of grants. The
commissioner is required to prioritize projects in districts other than SDA
districts located in underserved communities in which at least 50 percent of
students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals under the National
School Lunch Program.
���� The grants provided will
finance no more than 75 percent of the costs of projects selected by the
commissioner. The State share payable to the district will equal the product of
the project�s final eligible costs and the district aid percentage or 40
percent, whichever is greater. The funding of the State share will not commence
until the district secures financing for the local share.
���� The program will be funded through
the Regular Operating District Construction and Maintenance Grants Fund. The
bill appropriates $500 million to that fund.