summary
Introduced
02/05/2026
02/05/2026
In Committee
02/05/2026
02/05/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
2026-2027 Regular Session
Bill Summary
This bill expands the Tuition Aid Grant program to part-time undergraduate students who are enrolled in an eligible institution in New Jersey. The bill provides that part-time grant awards would be prorated against the full-time grant award for public and independent institutions of higher education as determined by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority. Under the current statute, the amount of a tuition aid grant may not exceed the maximum amount of tuition normally charged at a public institution or 50 percent of the average tuition normally charged at an independent institution. Appropriations for each program category of part-time tuition aid grants would be made separately by line item in order to ensure that funding for the part-time tuition aid grants would not lead to a reduction in the funding for the full-time tuition aid grants.
AI Summary
This bill expands the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG) program, a New Jersey state program that provides financial aid to resident undergraduate students based on their family's ability to pay, to now include part-time undergraduate students enrolled in eligible New Jersey institutions. Previously, only full-time students were eligible for TAG awards, with the grant amount capped at the cost of tuition at public institutions or 50 percent of the average tuition at independent institutions. Under this bill, part-time grant awards will be calculated proportionally based on the full-time award amounts, as determined by the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESA), the state agency that administers the program. To ensure that this expansion does not negatively impact current full-time recipients, the bill mandates that appropriations for full-time and part-time TAG programs be kept separate through individual line items in the state budget, and specifically states that existing funding for full-time TAG grants will not be reduced to fund the new part-time grants. The bill also clarifies that part-time eligibility periods will count as half of a full-time eligibility period towards the maximum duration a student can receive the grant.
Committee Categories
Education
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee (on 02/05/2026)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2026/S3354 |
| BillText | https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/S3500/3354_I1.HTM |
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