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A 4676

Designates March 25, "Medal of Honor Day", as a day of commemoration

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Chris Eachus and 1 co-sponsor

Requires New Jersey districts to provide an individual textbook for every student in every class that uses one, with immediate effect, boosting access and tracking needs.

REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS
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Bill Summary · A 4676

Bill A 4676 — Summary

Note on title vs. content: The header lists A 4676 as “Designates March 25, Medal of Honor Day, as a day of commemoration.” However, the introduced version text provided below concerns public school textbooks. The summary focuses on the introduced textbook provisions, as that is the operative content in the material provided. If you need a summary aligned with the Medal of Honor Day designation, please provide the correct text for that measure.

Overview

  • Court of origin: New Jersey
  • Bill number: A 4676
  • Introduced: June 28, 2024
  • Current status: REFERRED TO GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS (as of February 4, 2025)
  • Primary sponsor: Verlina Reynolds-Jackson
  • Co-sponsors: Al Taylor; Christopher Eachus
  • Related bills: S 4239 (companion); several prior-session companions listed

Purpose and intent

  • The bill is designed to ensure that each student in a class that uses a textbook receives an individual textbook. This aims to prevent situations where students lack a textbook for homework, study, or test preparation.

Key provisions

  • Definition of “textbook” (Section 1a): The bill defines “textbook” to include books, workbooks or manuals (bound or looseleaf), or electronic textbooks that are intended as the principal source of study material for a given class.
  • Duty of school boards (Section 1b): Each board of education in a school district must provide an individual textbook for every student enrolled in every class in the district that uses a textbook.
  • Effective date (Section 2): The act takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Who is affected

  • Primary: Local boards of education in New Jersey school districts
  • Secondary: Students in classes that use textbooks, as well as teachers and school administrators responsible for distributing instructional materials

Implementation considerations

  • Financial impact: The requirement to provide an individual textbook for every student in every textbook-using class could have significant cost implications for districts, particularly in high-enrollment schools or classrooms with multiple sections.
  • Logistics: Districts would need systems to track textbook distribution, ensure one-to-one provision, manage replacements, and handle digital vs. print formats.
  • Equity implications: The measure could improve student access to required materials, reducing disparities caused by missing textbooks.

Legislative history and process

  • 2024-06-28: Introduced in the Assembly; referred to Assembly Education Committee
  • 2025-02-04: Referred to Governmental Operations (duplicate entry shown in the record)
  • The bill remains in committee as it moves through the legislative process

Additional notes

  • Related companion bills exist in the Senate (e.g., S 4239) and prior-session companions (S 3443, S 5204, etc.), indicating ongoing interest in the topic of textbook access. The current text does not address funding or implementation timelines beyond immediate effect.

If you’d like, I can also provide a side-by-side comparison with the companion Senate bill or convert this into a stakeholder briefing.

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

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