STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ERIK K. SIMONSEN
District 1 (Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland)
Assemblyman DAVID BAILEY, JR.
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman McClellan, Assemblywoman Flynn, Assemblyman Scharfenberger, Assemblywomen Reynolds-Jackson and Fantasia
SYNOPSIS
Permits board of education to employ certain veterans in coaching positions in school district's interscholastic athletic program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning employment of certain veterans and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a board of education may employ an eligible veteran who is not the holder of a New Jersey teaching certificate or substitute credential in a full-time or part-time coaching position in the district’s interscholastic athletic program.
b. As used in this section, “eligible veteran” means any resident of the State who has been honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from military service in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, or a reserve component thereof, following at least four years of military service.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Under current New Jersey regulations, in order to be eligible to work in a school district’s interscholastic athletic program, an individual is required to hold either a New Jersey teaching certificate or a substitute credential.
Under this bill, a board of education may employ an eligible veteran who does not hold a New Jersey teaching certificate or substitute credential in a full-time or part-time coaching position in the school district’s interscholastic athletic program. An eligible veteran is defined as any resident of the State who has been honorably discharged or released under honorable circumstances from military service in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States, or a reserve component thereof, following at least four years of service.