Establishes school district grant program in DOE to reimburse public school teachers for classroom material expenditures.
Impact
Should A4477 be enacted, it will formally create a grant structure where the Department of Education will provide allocations to school districts on the basis of their full-time teaching staff. Specifically, the total grant funding designated for each district will be calculated as $250 multiplied by the number of full-time teachers. This funding model will ensure that each teacher can receive financial support for their classroom supplies, promoting a better educational environment.
Summary
Assembly Bill A4477 aims to establish a grant program within the New Jersey Department of Education designed to reimburse public school teachers for expenses incurred in purchasing classroom supplies. The bill proposes an annual reimbursement limit of $250 per teacher for eligible expenditures related to supplies needed for instructional purposes during the school year. This initiative is intended to ease the financial burdens placed on teachers, who often use their personal funds to fund classroom necessities.
Contention
While the bill may have broad support among educators who face financial strains, potential points of contention could arise regarding the allocation of federal funds designated to support the program. The bill states that the reimbursement costs will, to the extent permissible by law, be covered by federal funds allocated through the American Rescue Plan Act. This reliance on federal funding could raise concerns about sustainability and the potential impact of federal budget cuts on the grant program in future fiscal years.
Requires Secretary of Agriculture to establish Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program to reimburse school districts for costs expended in sourcing and procuring local foods for students; appropriates $6,500,000.
Requires Secretary of Agriculture to establish Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program to reimburse school districts for costs expended in sourcing and procuring local foods for students; appropriates $4,500,000.
Makes various changes to school funding and budgeting laws; eliminates use of census-based funding for special education aid; establishes reimbursement program for school district fuel costs.
Requires Secretary of Agriculture to establish Farm to School Local Food Procurement Reimbursement Grant Program to reimburse school districts for costs expended in sourcing and procuring local foods for students; appropriates $6,500,000.
Mandates additional state education funding for the mental and behavioral health of students equal to 2% of the district’s total expenditures, and require those funds be used to hire staff such as school social workers, and behavioral specialists.
Mandates additional state education funding for the mental and behavioral health of students equal to 2% of the district’s total expenditures, and require those funds be used to hire staff such as school social workers, and behavioral specialists.
Public education employees; exclusion of students from classroom, provided for; principal authorized to suspend, expel, or recommend for alternative school certain students excluded from classroom; civil and criminal immunity provided to education employees; local boards of education authorized to reimburse or compensate employees for certain legal fees; rebuttable presumption, created; Board of Education, required to adopt rules