STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER
District 22 (Somerset and Union)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Venezia and Assemblywoman Quijano
SYNOPSIS
Broadens eligibility of NJ STARS Program by permitting later entry into program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Higher Education Committee with technical review.
An Act concerning eligibility for the New Jersey Student Tuition Assistance Reward Scholarship (NJ STARS) Program and amending P.L.2008, c.124.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2008, c.124 (C.18A:71B-85.1) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. Upon notice from the authority in a student's senior year of high school of conditional eligibility for the NJ STARS Program, a student who determines to pursue final eligibility for the program shall take a college placement test to determine readiness for college-level coursework. The test shall be selected by the New Jersey Council of County Colleges and administered by the county college of the county in which the student's school district is located at no cost to the student or the school district. A county college may enter into an agreement with the school district to administer the test at the high school or other selected site within the district.
b. A county college shall notify any student who does not achieve the required score on the placement test that the student requires remediation prior to pursuing county college coursework for credit under the NJ STARS Program. The student shall have the responsibility to address the identified deficiencies through such means as the student determines, including enrollment in remedial classes at the county college during the senior year of high school.
c. Upon graduation from high school, if a student meets the eligibility criteria for receipt of an NJ STARS scholarship but is not able to demonstrate the skill levels required to pursue courses for credit at a county college, the student shall not receive an NJ STARS scholarship until that ability is demonstrated. [The student shall have one year from the September 1 next following the date of high school graduation to demonstrate such ability, and if at the end of the one-year period the student continues to require remediation, then the student shall lose eligibility for the NJ STARS Program. If during or at the end of the one-year period the student demonstrates the required ability, then the student shall be eligible for an NJ STARS scholarship for five semesters]
d. A student’s eligibility for the program, once established, shall not expire provided that the student meets the criteria established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2004, c.59 (C.18A:71B-85) at the time of program participation.
(cf: P.L.2008, c.124, s.2)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.