TRENTON – The Senate passed legislation sponsored by Senator Vin Gopal to reform New Jersey’s school funding system and enhance support for special education services. The bill, S-3917, makes targeted changes to the School Funding Reform Act (SFRA), strengthens transparency and predictability in how aid is calculated, and establishes a new task force to review the state’s special education funding model.

“At its core, this legislation is about equity, clarity, and sustainability,” said Senator Vin Gopal, a Democrat representing Monmouth County. “These reforms are a product of listening to school leaders, educators, and parents across New Jersey who have all said the same thing: we need a fairer, more predictable system,” Gopal said. “With this bill, we are making school funding more transparent, helping districts meet the rising cost of special education, and laying the groundwork for smarter, more equitable investment in public education.”

The bill requires the Department of Education to publish a user-friendly, district-level breakdown of SFRA aid calculations within two days of the Governor’s annual budget address. This change increases transparency and gives school leaders earlier insight into expected funding. To protect communities from being overwhelmed by sudden aid cuts, the bill also restores and makes permanent municipal overburden protections that expired after the 2024–2025 school year. These protections prevent state aid reductions for certain districts in high-tax municipalities already spending below their state-calculated adequacy budgets.

Under current law, the state reimburses districts for some extraordinary special education costs, but the amount often falls short and is inconsistent yearly. This legislation requires that state funding for exceptional special education aid increase annually or be structured to ensure a greater share of district costs are reimbursed than the previous year. It also clarifies that this aid cannot be counted against a district’s tax levy growth limit.

The bill establishes a Special Education Funding Review Task Force to further improve the state’s approach to special education. The task force will assess the effectiveness of current aid structures, explore the feasibility of a tier-based funding model, and recommend adapting to changes in state and federal revenues. It will include representatives from major education associations, state leaders, and advocacy organizations. The group must hold public meetings across the state and deliver a final report within one year of its formation.

The bill passed in an 38-1 vote.