Bill > S3356

Introduced Session

This bill requires the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA), in consultation with the New Jersey Board of Nursing, to develop a pathway to nursing scholarship program. The purpose of the scholarship program is to address the current and projected critical shortage of nurses in the State by providing an incentive for persons who currently work in the field of healthcare to enter an approved course of study in a nursing education program to ensure that sufficient numbers of trained nursing staff are available to provide quality health care services to the residents of this State. Under the bill, HESAA will award 100 scholarships in the amount of $10,000 each to qualified recipients enrolled in an approved course of study in a nursing education program in the State. To be eligible for the scholarship, an applicant must: be a resident of the State and maintain domicile in the State during participation in the program; currently work in, or have previously worked in, the healthcare industry; be enrolled in an approved course of study concerning nursing instruction at an institution of higher education or at a school of professional nursing; and submit a written statement to the authority detailing the applicant's ongoing commitment to working as a nurse upon completion of an approved course of study concerning nursing instruction at an institution of higher education or at a school of professional nursing. The bill appropriates $1 million from the General Fund to HESAA to effectuate the purposes of this act.

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Shirley Turner (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee (on 02/05/2026)

Official Document