A 4090 New Jersey General Assembly · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Requires campus diversity actions at public institutions of higher education and directs Secretary of Higher Education and Division on Civil Rights to develop guidance regarding diversity in faculty search and selection process.

This bill requires all New Jersey public colleges and universities to create detailed diversity plans with specific goals for recruiting and retaining diverse faculty, staff, and students, tailored to their institution's location (county colleges must reflect local demographics, four-year schools must reflect state demographics). It mandates annual student diversity reports broken down by race, ethnicity, and gender, including enrollment, retention, and graduation rates for each academic program. Institutions must also provide annual bias training for faculty search committees, appoint diversity ambassadors, and increase consideration of underrepresented candidates in hiring. The Secretary of Higher Education and Civil Rights Division must develop guidance for faculty hiring practices based on existing recommendations.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 19, 2026 Last action Feb 19, 2026
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Total actions
1
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Committee
0
Feb 19, 2026
Introduced
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Annette Quijano
Annette Quijano
DDemocratic
NJ
20