SENATE BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 4678
with committee amendments
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: DECEMBER 15, 2025
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 4678.
As amended, this bill modifies the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teacher (STEM) grant program to permit retired teachers and county college faculty members to teach in nonpublic schools under the program. The bill also authorizes the inclusion of individuals, who may teach some other STEM subject or area, to be eligible teachers under the program.
In 2019, the Legislature established a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics teacher (STEM) grant program, P.L 2019, c.256. Under the program, participating nonpublic schools form partnerships with eligible teachers and school districts, in which an eligible teacher employed by the district teaches STEM classes at the nonpublic school. The Commissioner of Education awards grants to participating school districts to provide compensation to participating teachers. This bill provides that under the program, participating nonpublic schools would form partnerships with eligible teachers, and the school district in which the eligible teacher is employed as applicable.
This bill expands the criteria for eligible teachers who may teach in nonpublic schools under the program. Specifically, the bill newly allows the following individuals to participate in the program: (1) a STEM teacher who was previously employed by a school district to teach STEM, but is now retired and receiving a retirement allowance under the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund; or (2) a faculty member at a county college who participates in a collective bargaining agreement and currently teaches a STEM course. The bill also authorizes a currently employed or retired teacher or a county college faculty member, who teaches or taught a STEM subject or area other than science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or computer science, to participate in the program. The bill further establishes a formula for the calculation of the remuneration provided under the program for participating retired teachers and county college faculty members.
The bill provides that the cancellation, reenrollment, and additional retirement allowance provisions under any provision of law related to a retirement system or program will not apply to a retired teacher who was a former member of the Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund and becomes employed for the purposes of the grant program. The cancellation, reenrollment, and additional retirement allowance provisions would apply, however, if the former member becomes employed within 180 days with the employer from which the member retired. The bill also stipulates that payments made to participating eligible teachers pursuant to the program would not change any status or benefits under any retirement system or program to which the eligible teacher has membership.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:
The committee amended the bill to:
(3) add language stating that additional purposes of the program include increasing the earning potential of eligible teachers and improving retention among public school teachers;
(4) remove a provision of the bill that would have required school districts to annually notify retired individuals, who were previously employed by the district, of the STEM grant program;
(5) reinsert a provision providing that the grant funds for approved applications of eligible teachers currently employed by a school district would be paid to the school district of a participating eligible teacher before then being used by the school district to provide compensation to a participating eligible teacher including applicable federal payroll taxes;
(6) provide that the grant funds for approved applications of eligible teachers, who are retired teachers previously employed by a school district or county college faculty members, may be allocated by the Department of Education or a third-party administrator directly to an eligible teacher;
(7) add language requiring that grant applications of eligible teachers currently employed by a school district would be fully funded before any funding is apportioned to eligible teachers who are retired teachers or county college faculty members;
(8) provide that payments received by a participating teacher under the grant program would not be considered in the calculation of “base salary” or “base annual salary” for the purposes of the alternate benefit program;
(9) provide that payments received under the program would not change any status or benefits under any retirement system or program to which an eligible teacher has membership;
(10) remove a provision of the bill that would have appropriated $3.5 million for the STEM grant program; and
(11) provide that the cancellation, reenrollment, and additional retirement allowance provisions of any law related to retirement systems would not apply to a retired teacher who is a member of the Teacher’s Pension and Annuity Fund and participates in the program unless the retired teacher becomes employed within 180 days with the employer from which the teacher retired.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) finds that this bill would result in an indeterminate annual State expenditure increase. The magnitude of the increase would be dependent on the extent to which participation in the program increases as a result of the bill.
The bill provides that a participating retired public school teacher or a participating county college faculty member would receive an amount equal to the Statewide average salary in the prior year calculated on an hourly basis, multiplied by 1.25, for each hour of STEM classes taught at a nonpublic school. The OLS notes that in the 2024-2025 school year, the average salary for a classroom teacher was $82,843. Assuming a work schedule of 180 days in a school year and seven hours per day, this yields a reimbursement rate of approximately $82 per hour of STEM classes taught at a nonpublic school.
Expenditures from the Nonpublic STEM Reimbursement Program account may increase to the extent that the bill’s expanded eligibility requirements cause increased participation from eligible public school teachers, retired teachers, and county college faculty members. The OLS notes that, since FY 2020, this program has received appropriations totaling $7.5 million across all years. Of that amount, a total of approximately $3.4 million has been expended, with the most significant spending occurring in FY 2025 when $1.3 million was spent. To date in FY 2026, nearly $975,000 has been expended from the account.