Insider NJ shared a recent report published in collaboration with the New Jersey State Policy Lab and the Newark City of Learning Collaborative examining how educational institutions might engage with unenrolled students.
Health State Signs Contract with Nonprofit to Erase Medical Debt - New Jersey has signed a contract with the nonprofit organization Undue Medical Debt to facilitate the erasure of $100,000 in medical debt held by over 50,000 state residents. The state will provide $10.5 million in federal pandemic aid to purchase debt at a steep discount, [...]
Education Court Rules Students with Disabilities Entitled to Education after Earning GED - In an August 7 decision, the NJ Supreme Court ruled that students with disabilities are entitled to a free education in schools even after earning a diploma through the General Education Development (GED) test. The ruling overturned an earlier decision in the case [...]
Education NJ Eyes Reforms for School District Evaluation Metrics - The state Department of Education (DOE) has proposed changes to the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC), an evaluation of school district effectiveness administered every three years. Several superintendents testified to the brokenness of the current evaluation system at an Aug. 7 Board of Education [...]
Environment Federal Court Vacates Approval of Pipeline Expansion Project - In a unanimous July 30 decision, a federal appeals court blocked a controversial natural gas infrastructure project, the Regional Energy Access Expansion. The project aimed to increase the volume of natural gas transported by the Transco pipeline by constructing a compressor station in Gloucester County and [...]
Digital/Tech Murphy Signs into Law Tax Incentives to Attract AI Development to NJ - On July 25, Gov. Murphy signed into law S3432/A4558, codified as P.L.2024, c.49., legislation which aims to create a hub for artificial intelligence development in New Jersey. The new law establishes a $500 million tax incentive program administered by the state Economic [...]
Environment Department of Environmental Protection Allows Construction of Power Plant in Newark Community - On July 18, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) released a decision allowing the construction of a controversial backup power plant in the Ironbound community of Newark. The DEP decided that a law preventing polluting projects in overburdened communities should not [...]
Education Legislature Approves Bills and Budget to Target Literacy in Young Children - On June 28, the NJ legislature passed two bills and allocated funding in the state budget to target low literacy rates in school-age children due to the COVID-19 pandemic. S2644 would establish a working group within the Department of Education (DOE) to provide [...]
Digital/Tech Legislature Passes Tax Incentive Program for Artificial Intelligence - On June 28, both houses passed S3432, legislation that establishes Next New Jersey, a tax incentive program to encourage artificial intelligence (AI) development. Under the Economic Development Authority-administered program, businesses which collect more than half of their revenue or devote more than half their staff to [...]
Education Lawmakers Abandon Plan to Subsidize Private School Tuition - Sponsors of the proposed New Jersey Student Support Act withdrew the bill following widespread stakeholder opposition. The bill would have directed the state to spend $37.5 million annually on tax credits to enable students to attend private school. Taxpayers could claim credit for contributing to organizations [...]
