Bill Text: NJ S4236 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes comprehensive school-based violence prevention grant program to help youth at highest risk of involvement in gun violence; appropriates $1 million.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S4236 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4236-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes comprehensive school-based violence prevention grant program to help students at highest risk of involvement in gun violence; appropriates $1 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a comprehensive school-based violence prevention grant program, supplementing chapter 6 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. As used in this act:
"Eligible school district" means a school district located in a municipality that, for not fewer than two years preceding the grant application, experienced any of the following:
a. 35 or more homicides per year;
b. 20 or more homicides per year and a homicide rate that was not less than double the national average;
c. a juvenile arrest rate for violent crime that was double the national average; or
d. demonstrates a unique and compelling need for additional resources to address youth gun violence in accordance with criteria other than those enumerated in subsections a. through c. of this definition, as deemed appropriate by the commissioner.
"Grant program" means the Comprehensive School-Based Violence Prevention Grant Program established pursuant to section 2 of this act.
"Partnering organizations" means individuals or entities that collaborate with the eligible school district in the development and implementation of a comprehensive school-based violence prevention program, including, but not limited to, schools, teachers, mental health professionals, counselors, mentors, community-based non-profit organizations, local businesses, community leaders, and crisis intervention professionals.
2. a. There is established in the Department of Education the Comprehensive School-Based Violence Prevention Grant Program. The purpose of the grant program shall be to award grants to eligible school districts to establish or expand a comprehensive school-based violence prevention program in conjunction with partnering organizations to help youth at highest risk of involvement in gun violence.
b. The Commissioner of Education shall award grants, within the limit of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for the program, to eligible school districts to be used by the districts to develop and implement comprehensive school-based violence prevention programs in conjunction with partnering organizations that are focused on providing services to students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 or individuals under 19 years of age, using strategies that are evidence-based, culturally competent, and linguistically and developmentally inclusive. The strategies used in a comprehensive school-based violence program shall have a demonstrated effectiveness at preventing or reducing violence among youth at highest risk of involvement in gun violence.
c. The department shall determine allowable uses for grant funds prior to accepting applications to participate in the grant program and shall describe the allowable uses in a notice of grant opportunity.
3. A school district that wishes to apply for a grant shall submit an application to the commissioner in a manner and form to be determined by the commissioner. The application shall identify and detail:
a. the at-risk youth population that the comprehensive school-based violence prevention program will serve;
b. the partnering organizations with which the school district will collaborate in the development and implementation of the program;
c. the strategies to be employed in the program to:
(1) promote community engagement by at-risk youth that supports healthy personal development;
(2) promote healing from trauma and other adverse childhood experiences that increase a young person's risk for involvement in gun violence;
(3) strengthen the interpersonal and emotional skills of youth, such as communication, problem-solving, empathy, and conflict management;
(4) connect youth to trusted adults, including mental health professionals, counselors, mentors, community leaders, crisis intervention professionals, or educators trained in trauma-informed care and activities;
(5) foster safer school and community environments; or
(6) lessen the harms of escalating violence and prevent future risk of violence, including gun violence;
d. the activities that will be undertaken under the program to:
(1) provide resources and technical assistance to the eligible school district and its partnering organizations;
(2) facilitate improved relationships among youth, families, school districts and other partnering organizations; and
(3) increase professional development opportunities for teachers, school leaders, and other school personnel to access evidence-based trauma support services, social and emotional learning, and mental health services; and
e. any other information the commissioner deems appropriate.
4. a. A school district which received a grant under the Comprehensive School-Based Violence Prevention Grant Program in the prior school year shall submit a report to the commissioner containing information on the district's use of grant funds. The report shall include, at a minimum, information on:
(1) the number of students and schools served by the program;
(2) the strategies put in place to address student development, engagement, and access to trusted adults;
(3) the extent to which the district increased professional development opportunities for teachers, school leaders, and other school personnel; and
(4) if the grant funds helped to improve community partnerships and engagement and led to safer schools and communities.
b. No later than two years after the establishment of the Comprehensive School-Based Violence Prevention Grant Program, and every two years thereafter, the commissioner shall submit a report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52: 14-19.1) on the implementation of the grant program. The report shall include, but need not be limited to, information on:
(1) the number of grant applicants;
(2) the number and amounts of the grant awards;
(3) information provided by school districts under subsection a. of this section;
(4) statistical data available from the State regarding youth involvement in gun violence prior to, and following implementation of the comprehensive school-based violence prevention programs; and
(5) any recommendations concerning the continuation or expansion of the grant program.
5. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Education the sum of $1 million for the Comprehensive School-Based Violence Prevention Grant Program established pursuant to section 2 of this act.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes the Comprehensive School-Based Violence Prevention Grant Program (grant program) in the Department of Education. The purpose of the program is to award grants to eligible school districts, located in a municipality experiencing certain crime rates, to develop and implement comprehensive school-based violence prevention programs in conjunction with partnering organizations to help youth at highest risk of involvement in gun violence. The bill defines partnering organizations as individuals or entities that collaborate with the eligible school district, including, but not limited to, schools, teachers, mental health professionals, counselors, mentors, community-based non-profit organizations, local businesses, community leaders, and crisis intervention professionals.
Under the bill, an eligible school district that wishes to apply for a grant would be required to submit an application to the commissioner in a manner and form to be determined by the commissioner. The application would be required to identify and detail: (1) the at-risk youth population that the program will serve; (2) the partnering organizations with which the school district will collaborate in the development and implementation of the program; and (3) the strategies to be employed in the program to promote community and healing from trauma and other adverse childhood experiences; strengthen the interpersonal and emotional skills of youth; connect youth to trusted adults; and foster safer school and community environments.
The bill also requires an application for grant funds to include descriptions of the activities that will be undertaken by a school district under the program.
Under the bill, a school district awarded grant funding in the previous school year would be required to submit a report to the commissioner containing information on the district's use of grant funds. No later than two years after the establishment of the grant program, and every two years thereafter, the commissioner would be required to report to the Governor and to the Legislature on the implementation of the grant program.
Finally, the bill appropriates $1 million to the Department of Education for the purposes of the grant program.
