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S 988

Repeals the requirement that applicants must pass an examination in order to qualify as a licensed master social worker

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Samra Brouk and 11 co-sponsors

Requires DOE and DCF to create online, public systems for submitting and posting school/child care lead test results, plus a statewide remediation report with DEP within 2 years.

REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
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Bill Summary · S 988

Summary — S 988 (Introduced March 12, 2025)

Note: Although an alternate brief title was provided with your request, the bill text and accompanying documents make clear that S 988 concerns establishing online reporting and public disclosure of lead-in-drinking-water testing for schools and child care centers. This summary reflects the bill language and supporting documents.

Main purpose

Require the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Children and Families (DCF) to create publicly accessible, online reporting systems to collect and publish lead testing results from schools and child care centers, and to produce a statewide report on lead contamination and remediation needs.

Key provisions

  • Online reporting systems

    • DOE and DCF must each establish an electronic reporting system within 1 year of the bill’s effective date to receive lead test results and related information from schools and child care centers.
    • The systems must allow submission (and resubmission) of test results and other required data.

  • Data submission deadlines

    • Within 90 days after each system is established, any school that was required to test on/after July 1, 2016, and any child care center required to test on/after January 1, 2017, must submit or resubmit its test results and required information through the applicable online system.

  • Public access and format

    • DOE and DCF must compile the submitted results and post them on their respective websites in an easily searchable format for public access.

  • Statewide report

    • Within 2 years after the bill’s effective date, DOE and DCF, in consultation with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), must prepare and submit a report to the Governor and Legislature that:
    • Outlines the extent of lead contamination in school and child care drinking water,
    • Identifies needs for remediation assistance,
    • Recommends how the State can assist with remediation efforts.
    • The departments must post the report on their websites.

  • Effective date

    • The act takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Who is affected

  • Schools and child care centers that were required by law or regulation to test drinking water for lead (schools: testing requirement adopted July 2016; child care facilities: January 2017).
  • DOE, DCF, and DEP (responsible for system development, data compilation, and reporting).
  • The public, parents, school communities, and policymakers (gain access to centralized lead testing data).
  • Potential downstream effects on remediation funding and technical assistance programs.

Fiscal and administrative impact

  • Office of Legislative Services (OLS) fiscal estimate: one‑time state expenditure increase, indeterminate but likely not significant.
    • Agencies already have technical capacity to receive and publish external data; one‑time development costs for reporting tools and a one‑time staff cost to prepare the statewide report are expected and can likely be absorbed within existing budgets.
  • Schools and child care centers will incur administrative work to submit or resubmit testing data via the new systems within the specified deadlines.

Policy rationale and context

  • The bill implements a recommendation from the Joint Legislative Task Force on Drinking Water Infrastructure (final report, Jan. 2018).
  • Centralizing test results enables better transparency, public access, and policymaker analysis to prioritize and direct remediation funding and technical assistance to locations with lead contamination.

Procedural status (as provided)

  • Introduced: March 12, 2025
  • Current status listed: REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION
  • Reported favorably by Senate Education Committee: December 5, 2024 (per committee statement)
  • Fiscal estimate dated January 7, 2025 (OLS)

If you want, I can:
- Extract the exact statutory text that would be added (section-level language),
- Produce a short checklist for schools/child care centers to comply with the bill’s submission requirements, or
- Compare S 988 to existing state reporting practices and identify likely implementation issues.

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

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