Bill Text: NJ A616 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Alters date by which school districts notify parents of nonpublic school students of eligibility for bus transportation or aid in-lieu-of transportation payment from August 1 to July 15.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-01-13 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A616 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A616-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GARY S. SCHAER
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Alters date by which school districts notify parents of nonpublic school students of eligibility for bus transportation or aid in-lieu-of transportation payment from August 1 to July 15.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning pupil transportation, amending P.L.1997, c.53, and supplementing chapter 39 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1997, c.53 (C.18A:39-11.1) is amended to read as follows:
1. a. The Commissioner of Education shall identify and publish a list of local school boards of education, educational services commissions, county special services school districts, and any other established agencies providing cooperative transportation services.
b. Any school district responsible for the transportation of pupils to and from a school, other than a local district school, pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1 which transports pupils to a county vocational school and pupils classified pursuant to chapter 46 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes shall utilize one of the agencies identified by the commissioner for the transportation of the pupils. Transportation by one of the agencies shall not be required when the local district can provide transportation at a lower cost than those agencies, or the transportation to be provided by one of the agencies does not fall within the policies of the resident school district regarding length of ride and assignment of students to a route based on student age or classification.
c. (1) A board of education shall bid or coordinate nonpublic school transportation services with another school district or a cooperative transportation services agency in accordance with criteria established by the commissioner.
(2) Any school district which has in the prior year provided payments in-lieu-of transportation for any nonpublic school pupil pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1, or which cannot provide transportation in the ensuing school year in accordance with the commissioner's criteria, shall attempt to provide transportation through an agency identified by the commissioner prior to determining to pay aid in-lieu-of transportation. The school district shall provide to the agency any unique limitations or restrictions of the required transportation. If the costs to provide transportation by the agency identified by the commissioner are less than the aid in-lieu-of transportation payments, the agency shall provide transportation. The school district shall make the determination on the manner in which transportation services shall be provided and shall notify the nonpublic school and the parent or guardian of the nonpublic school pupil by [August] July [1] 15 prior to the beginning of the school year. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as prohibiting a school district from, prior to the notification date established pursuant to this paragraph, preliminarily informing the nonpublic school and the parent or guardian of the nonpublic school pupil that the costs to provide transportation on a per pupil basis are likely to be greater than the maximum per pupil aid in-lieu-of transportation payment amount for the school year. For the purposes of this subsection, "costs to provide transportation" shall not include any administrative fee charged by the agency. If the sum of the costs to provide transportation plus any administrative fee charged by the agency exceeds on a per pupil basis the maximum amount for nonpublic school transportation established pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1981, c.57 (C.18A:39-1a), the board of education may apply to the commissioner for that portion which exceeds the maximum amount.
d. The county superintendents shall:
(1) assist local boards of education and the chief school administrators of nonpublic schools in coordinating the calendars and schedules of the public and nonpublic schools to facilitate the coordination of transportation of pupils to and from school in their respective county:
(2) arbitrate any disputes between local boards of education and the chief school administrators of nonpublic schools regarding pupil transportation; and
(3) convene a meeting, at least once a year, of representatives of all public and nonpublic schools in the county to discuss issues related to pupil transportation.
(cf: P.L.2001, c.65, s.2)
2. (New section) A school district shall make the determination on the manner in which transportation services shall be provided to a nonpublic school pupil eligible for transportation services pursuant to N.J.S.18A:39-1, and shall notify the nonpublic school and the parent or guardian of the nonpublic school pupil by July 15 prior to the beginning of the school year. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a school district from, prior to the notification date established pursuant to this section, preliminarily informing the nonpublic school and the parent or guardian of the nonpublic school pupil that the costs to provide transportation on a per pupil basis are likely to be greater than the maximum per pupil aid in-lieu-of transportation payment amount for the school year.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill changes the date by which a school district is required to notify the parent or guardian of a nonpublic school student and the nonpublic school, of the district's determination on the manner in which transportation services will be provided to the pupil. According to State Board of Education regulations, this notification is to occur by August 1 prior to the beginning of the school year. The bill changes the notification date to July 15.
The bill also concerns the use of cooperative transportation services for the provision of pupil transportation and makes reference to the August 1 date.
Finally, the bill specifies that nothing in the bill is to prohibit a school district from, prior to the July 15 notification date, preliminarily informing a nonpublic school and the parent or guardian of a nonpublic school pupil that the costs to provide transportation on a per pupil basis are likely to be greater than the maximum per pupil aid in-lieu-of transportation payment amount for the school year.
