Requires principals and teachers of public schools to conduct two sentence oral recitation from Declaration of Independence before opening of school each day in grades three through 12; appropriates $10,000.

S4336

SENATE, No. 4336

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MAY 28, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� JAMES W. HOLZAPFEL

District 10 (Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires principals and teachers of public schools to
conduct two sentence oral recitation from Declaration of Independence before
opening of school each day in grades three through 12; appropriates $10,000.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

requiring principals and teachers of public
schools to conduct an oral recitation from the Declaration of Independence
before the opening of each school day for certain pupils, supplementing chapter
36 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes, and making an appropriation.

����
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 �America � Celebrating 250 Years Act.��������

���� 2.��� The Legislature finds
and declares that:

���� a.���� In writing the
Declaration of Independence, in addition to listing the specific grievances of
the American Colonies toward the British King and Parliament, Thomas Jefferson
set forth a statement of the fundamental principles of government upon which
the new nation was to be founded, and this statement continued to have
resonance long after the contents of the remainder of the document were
forgotten.

���� b.��� In his writing, Jefferson was influenced by the ideas of John Locke's
Two Treatises of Government
,
and of the French philosophes of the Enlightenment such as Rousseau,
Montesquieu, and Voltaire, in his dislike of absolute monarchy and in his
belief that governments were legitimate only when based on the consent of the
governed.

���� c.���� The Abolitionist
movement in the United States prior to the Civil War used Jefferson�s words in
the Declaration as the basis for arguing for the elimination of slavery; the
Republican party of 1860, which was dedicated to the antislavery cause,
incorporated Jefferson�s words into their platform; William Lloyd Garrison, the
abolitionist publisher of the
Liberator
, cited Jefferson�s words in
arguing for the immediate, rather than gradual, elimination of slavery; and
Stephen Douglas, in his first debate with Abraham Lincoln, noted that Lincoln,
in his campaign for the presidency, �reads from the Declaration of Independence
that all men were created equal, and then asks, How can you deprive a Negro of
that equality which God and the Declaration of Independence awards to
him?"

���� d.��� In adopting its
"Declaration of Sentiments" at the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848,
the women�s suffrage movement invoked the principles set forth in the
Declaration of Independence in arguing for the equality of women, and again in
1910, Senator Robert Owen of Oklahoma, a strong advocate of giving women the
right to vote, invoked the Declaration, noting, �The great doctrine of the
American Republic that �all governments derive their just powers from the
consent of the governed� justifies the plea of one-half of the people, the
women, to exercise the suffrage.�

���� e.���� This great statement of
the fundamental principles on which this nation is based has transcended the
economic, social, and cultural changes that have occurred in the two centuries
that have passed since it was written and remains as relevant today as it was
at the time of the founding of the Republic.

���� 3.��� In grades three through
12, principals and teachers in each public elementary and secondary school of
each school district in the State shall conduct, before the opening exercises
of each school day and immediately following the pledge of allegiance, an oral
recitation of the following excerpt from the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.� That to secure these rights,
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed�"

���� 4.��� Every board of education
shall establish an age-appropriate curriculum that includes the meaning and
importance of the statement required pursuant to section 3 of this act in its
historical context, including the relationship of its ideas to the American
Revolution, the abolition of slavery, the formulation of the American
Constitution and its amendments, women's suffrage, the civil rights movement,
and other developments in American history.

���� 5.��� Every board of education
shall determine the appropriate means of implementing this act.� This act shall
not apply to any pupil who has conscientious scruples against the recitation
required by this act or who is the child of an accredited representative of a
foreign government to whom the United States government extends diplomatic
immunity.

���� 6.��� In order to comply with
the provisions of Article VIII, Section II, paragraph 5 of the State
Constitution, there is appropriated to the Department of Education from the
General Fund $10,000 for the preparation and distribution to each board of
education of a notice to the principals and teachers of each public elementary
and secondary school of each school district in the State informing them of
their obligation under this act and containing the complete text of the
Declaration of Independence, with the excerpt for recitation pursuant to
section 3 of this act printed in bold typeface.� After the initial distribution
of the notice, the department shall take the steps necessary to ensure that
sufficient copies of the notice are available, upon request, to boards of
education.

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

STATEMENT

���� This bill, which is designated
as the �America � Celebrating 250 Years Act,� requires public elementary and
secondary school principals and teachers to conduct, in grades three through
12, an oral recitation of the following excerpt from the Declaration of
Independence before the beginning of the school day:

�������� �We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.� That
to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed��

���� The bill directs each board of
education to establish an age-appropriate curriculum that includes the meaning
and importance of this statement in its historical context, including the
relationship of its ideas to the American Revolution, the abolition of slavery,
the formulation of the American Constitution and its amendments, women's
suffrage, the civil rights movement, and other developments in American
history.

���� Current law requires the
pupils in each school to salute the flag and say the pledge of allegiance on
every school day (N.J.S.18A:36-3).� In addition, N.J.S.18A:36-13 provides that
appropriate patriotic exercises must be held in all public schools on the last
school day preceding certain patriotic holidays.

���� The bill appropriates $10,000
to the Department of Education for preparation and distribution of a notice to
boards of education regarding the requirement, including the complete text of
the Declaration of Independence with the excerpt printed in bold typeface.� The
department is directed to ensure that after initial distribution, sufficient
copies of the notice are available, upon request, to boards of education.