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A 3340

Clarifies which health care professional may provide documentation to school district of need for home instruction due to student's health condition.*

2024-2025 Regular Session Introduced by Rosy Bagolie and 3 co-sponsors

Expands who can certify home instruction for ill students to APNs and PAs, sets threshold to 15 cumulative days, effective immediately.

Received in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee
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Bill Summary · A 3340

Summary — Assembly Bill A3340 (2024–2025)

Status: Received in the Senate; referred to Senate Education Committee
Introduced: January 27, 2025
Sponsor (primary): Doug Smith
Other sponsors (from introduced version): Louis D. Greenwald, Sterley S. Stanley, Carol A. Murphy
Related/companion bills: S3296, S1763, S9531 (prior session), A6318 (prior session)
Effective date: Immediately upon enactment

Purpose / Intent

A3340 clarifies which health care professionals may provide the written documentation a school district needs to place a student on home instruction when the student’s temporary or chronic health condition (or need for treatment) prevents attendance in the usual school setting. The bill expands the list of providers who can certify the need and adjusts the threshold for when written documentation is required.

Key provisions

  • Allows a student’s advanced practice nurse (APN) and physician assistant (PA) — in addition to the student’s physician — to provide the written determination documenting that the student requires confinement at home or another treatment setting so the school district may provide home instruction.
  • Sets the documentation threshold at:
    • more than 10 consecutive school days, or
    • 15 cumulative school days during the school year.
  • States that these provisions are in addition to any other home-instruction requirements established by State Board of Education regulations (e.g., N.J.A.C. 6A:16-10.1).
  • Takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Changes made in committee amendments

  • Explicitly added physician assistants to the list of professionals whose written determinations will be accepted.
  • Reduced the cumulative-days threshold for requiring written documentation from 20 cumulative school days to 15 cumulative school days.

Who is affected

  • Students who cannot attend school because of temporary or chronic health conditions or treatment needs, and their parents/guardians (who request home instruction).
  • School districts — which will accept written determinations from APNs and PAs as well as physicians when authorizing home instruction.
  • Health care providers — particularly advanced practice nurses and physician assistants, whose determinations are recognized by statute.
  • State education regulators — the bill supplements existing State Board rules; districts must still follow any regulatory requirements.

Potential impact

  • Broadens the pool of authorized professionals who can certify a student’s need for home instruction, potentially reducing delays in access to home instruction and aligning statutory practice with contemporary clinical care teams.
  • Lowering the cumulative-days threshold (from 20 to 15) triggers documentation and school-district-provided home instruction earlier in a school year for students with intermittent absences due to health.
  • Does not replace or override other State Board of Education requirements for home instruction; districts remain bound by existing regulations.

Legislative progress / timeline

  • Introduced in the Assembly: January 9, 2024 (referred to Assembly Education Committee)
  • Reported out of Assembly Education Committee with amendments: March 4, 2024
  • Reported out of Assembly Health Committee: March 6, 2025
  • Passed Assembly (vote 75–2–0): March 24, 2025
  • Received in Senate and referred to Senate Education Committee: May 12, 2025

This summary reflects the most recent committee amendments and actions recorded as of the bill’s referral to the Senate Education Committee.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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