Text of NJ S 532 (2022)

SENATE, No. 532 STATE OF NEW JERSEY 220th LEGISLATURE PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION Sponsored by: Senator M. TERESA RUIZ District 29 (Essex) Senator NELLIE POU District 35 (Bergen and Passaic) Co-Sponsored by: Senators Testa and Singleton SYNOPSIS Provides tuition fee waiver apprenticeship courses. CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel. An Act concerning apprenticeship tuition fees and supplementing chapter 62 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. As used in this act: "Eligible person" means an individual whose gross aggregate household income at the time of admission to a New Jersey public institution of higher education or county vocational school providing post-secondary vocational education is below the State household median income. "Gross aggregate household income" means the total annual income of all members of a household, from whatever source derived, including, but not limited to, pension, annuity, retirement and Social Security benefits received during the taxable year. "Registered apprenticeship" means an apprenticeship in a program providing to each trainee combined classroom and on-the-job training under the direct and close supervision of a highly skilled worker in an occupation recognized as an apprenticeable trade, and registered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the United States Department of Labor and meeting the standards established by that office. "State household median income" means the point that divides the gross aggregate household income distribution into halves, one-half with income above the median and the other with income below the median as determined by the United States Census Bureau American Community Survey. The median is based on the income distribution of all households, including those with no income in the State. "Tuition" means the charges imposed by a New Jersey public institution of higher education or county vocational school providing post-secondary vocational education for enrollment at the institution or school. 2. a. An eligible person shall be permitted to attend, tuition-free, courses available at any public institution of higher education or county vocational school which are qualified to serve as the classroom training or education component of a registered apprenticeship program in which the person is participating as a registered apprentice if: (1) tuition costs are not covered by an employer through employment benefits; (2) the person completes a Free Application for Federal Student Aid each year within the established deadlines and has exhausted all financial aid assistance; and (3) the person retains employment as an active registered apprentice under the registered apprenticeship program and maintains satisfactory academic progress to qualify for renewal of the tuition waiver. b. The State shall reimburse a public institution of higher education or county vocational school for the tuition cost of each eligible person who enrolls in the institution pursuant to the provisions of this section. 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year following the date of enactment. STATEMENT This bill requires public institutions of higher education to waive the tuition fees of certain courses which are qualified to serve as the classroom training or education component of a registered apprenticeship for eligible persons whose gross aggregate household income is below the State's median annual income. Under the bill, an eligible person is an individual whose gross aggregate household income at the time of admission to a New Jersey public institution of higher education or county vocational school is below the State household median income as determined by the United States Census Bureau American Community Survey. The person is to be deemed eligible for a tuition fee waiver if: 1. tuition costs are not covered by the employer through employment benefits; 2. the person completes a Free Application for Federal Student Aid each year and has exhausted all financial aid assistance; and 3. the person retains employment as an active registered apprentice under the registered apprenticeship program and maintains satisfactory academic progress to qualify for renewal of the tuition waiver.