Singleton Bill to Increase Awareness of School Spending Priorities Clears Committee

Trenton – In an effort to highlight school spending priorities, Senator Troy Singleton sponsored a bill that passed the Senate Education Committee today that would require school districts to publicly report the number of mental health professionals and security personnel employed by the district.

“Now more than ever, our schools need to strike a better balance between the physical safety of its student population and their mental well-being,” said Senator Singleton (D-Burlington). “Over a million students in our country have law enforcement officers in their schools, yet don’t have a single counselor that they can turn to during their time of need. This bill’s aim is to highlight how our schools prioritize our money to support our students and staff. ”

Currently, school districts are only required to submit information and data to the Department of Education for categories such as academic achievement, district spending and student discipline. The bill would update this information to also include the number of mental health professionals and school security personnel.

The bill, S-2811, was released from committee by a vote of 6-0.