S 2030

SENATE, No. 2030
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator VINCENT J. POLISTINA
District 2 (Atlantic)
SYNOPSIS
���� Establishes Elementary Home Reading Grant Program;
appropriates $500,000 to DOE from federal funds.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
An Act establishing the Elementary Home Reading 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.��� a.� The Commissioner of Education shall
establish and administer the Elementary Home Reading Grant Program. The purpose
of the program shall be to increase reading opportunities and parental
engagement for elementary school students throughout the State in order to
improve reading proficiency.
���� b.� The grant program shall support home reading
programs implemented by school districts in partnership with nonprofit
organizations. A school district shall partner with a nonprofit organization
that provides a home reading program. The home reading program shall, at a
minimum, meet the following criteria:
���� (1)� mail independent reading level books to the
residences of elementary school students on a weekly basis;
���� (2)� incorporate weekly telephone calls, texts,
or application notifications in multiple languages to a parent or guardian to
encourage parental and family engagement;
���� (3)� build on pedagogical and
literacy principles to improve reading comprehension;
���� (4)� provide at least six and
not more than nine books a student may permanently keep which are to be chosen
by the student;
���� (5)� include a customizable
portal to generate individualized data reports for analysis of student
progress; and
���� (6)� annually collect,
disaggregate, and distribute detailed data to the commissioner on metrics of
the program including parental engagement, the number of books read, and
non-identifying demographic data.
���� 2.��� a.� A school district
wishing to participate in the grant program shall submit an application to the
Department of Education in a form prescribed by the commissioner. An
application shall include, but not be limited to:
���� (1)� a detailed description of
the home reading program and how it addresses the elements of a home reading
program described in section 1 of this act;
���� (2)� information on the
nonprofit organization partnering with a school district to administer the home
reading program;
���� (3)� a description of the
goals of the home reading program and a method of measuring student academic
success and program outcomes;
���� (4)� a description of the
methods to be used to identify underperforming students for participation in
the home reading program;
���� (5)� the number of students
able to be supported by the home reading program and the number of students
expected to participate, if different;
���� (6)� the projected per student
and aggregate cost of implementing the home reading program; and
���� (7)� any other information the
commissioner deems necessary.
���� b.� Grant awards shall be
allocated to a school district on a competitive basis. In determining grant
recipients, the commissioner shall consider, at minimum, a school district�s
plan with respect to the alignment with elements of high impact reading programs,
the potential number of students impacted by the program, the need of a school
district to supplement classroom learning to address reading proficiency, the
number of economically disadvantaged students the home reading program will
impact, and the estimated cost of implementing the program by a school
district. The commissioner shall give preference to applications for programs
that are set up to function for more than four years and can continue to
operate beyond the duration of available grant funding. To the extent possible,
the commissioner shall select grant recipients from the northern, central, and
southern regions of the State, and shall seek a cross section of school
districts from urban, suburban, and rural areas.
���� c.� Grant funds shall be
awarded to a participating school district on a matching basis, subject to the
limits of available funding. Per student costs proposed by a school district
for home reading programs shall be matched by the State at 100 percent. Any
matched funds that are unexpended at the end of the State fiscal year shall
revert to the State.
���� d.� 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.��� The Commissioner of
Education 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), no later than two years after
the establishment of the Elementary Home Reading Grant Program. The report shall
include, but not be limited to, information on the number of grant applicants,
the number and amounts of the grant awards, the number of elementary school
students participating in the program, information provided by home reading
programs under subsection b. of section 1 of this act, information on the
impact of home reading programs on reading proficiency, and any recommendations
concerning the continuation or expansion of the grant program.
���� 4.��� � There is appropriated
from the General Fund to the Department of Education the sum of $500,000 from a
portion of those unexpended federal funds allocated to the State to address the
impact of the coronavirus pandemic, for use by the department to provide grant
funding to school districts that participate in the Elementary Home Reading
Grant Program established pursuant to P.L.��� , c.�� (C.���� ) (pending before
the Legislature as this bill). To the extent that the unexpended federal funds
do not cover the entirety of the funding for the grant program established
pursuant to this act, the Legislature may appropriate additional funds as
necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following enactment.
STATEMENT
���� This bill would establish the
Elementary Home Reading Grant Program to increase reading opportunities and
parental engagement for elementary students around the State in order to
improve reading proficiency. The grant program would support school districts
in partnering with nonprofit organizations providing home reading programs.
���� Each home reading program
would be required to meet certain minimum criteria, including (1) mailing
independent reading level books to the residences of elementary school students
on a weekly basis; (2) incorporating weekly phone calls, texts, or application
notifications in multiple languages to a parent or guardian; (3) building on
pedagogical and literacy principles; (4) providing at least six and not more
than nine books for a student to permanently keep; (5) providing a customizable
portal to generate individualized data reports for analysis of student
progress; and (6) collection, disaggregation, and distribution of detailed data
on metrics of the program including parental engagement, the number of books
read, and non-identifying demographic data.
���� A school district wishing to
participate in the grant program would submit an application to the Department
of Education in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Education. The
application would be required to include: (1) a detailed description of the
home reading program; (2) information on the nonprofit organization partnering
with a school district to administer the home reading program; (3) a
description of the goals of the home reading program and a method of measuring
student academic success and program outcomes; (4) a description of the methods
to be used to identify underperforming students for participation in the home
reading program; (5) the number of students able to be supported by the home
reading program and the number of students expected to participate; (6) the
projected per student and aggregate cost of implementing the home reading
program; and (7) any other information the commissioner deems necessary.
���� Under the bill, grant funds
would be awarded to participating school districts on a matching basis. Per
student costs proposed by a school district would be matched by the State at
100 percent.
���� The bill would appropriate
$500,000 for the grant program. The funding for the program would first be
provided by any available unexpended federal funds. The Legislature may
appropriate additional funds for the grant program.