Trenton – To help alleviate the staffing shortages around the state, the Senate today advanced legislation sponsored by Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz which would temporarily remove the state residency requirement for public school employees.
“Teacher shortages have been a growing issue in New Jersey and around the country for the past several years, an issue which has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Senator Ruiz (D-Essex). “While we have enacted various measures to try and address it, it is clear more needs to be done to ensure our schools have adequate staff to meet the needs of our students. By temporarily removing the residency requirement we can see how it helps to mitigate shortages around the state and determine how best to move forward.”
The bill, S-904, would eliminate the state residency requirement for all public school employees for a three-year period. Under the bill, schools would be required to make a good-faith effort to hire New Jersey residents first.
The residency requirement was initially instituted in 2011.
The bill was released from the Senate by a vote of 36-1.