S 1376 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Requires public schools that offer student psychological services to offer remote sessions.

S 1376 requires New Jersey public school districts, charter schools, and renaissance school projects that employ a school psychologist and offer in-person counseling to also provide virtual or remote counseling sessions for students in grades K-12. The bill mandates that schools permit remote sessions unless a school psychologist determines in-person counseling is necessary for a student's well-being. Students retain the right to choose in-person sessions if they prefer, and the law defines "school psychologist" as a certified professional with a New Jersey educational services certificate. This policy change ensures continued access to psychological services for students who cannot attend in-person sessions, such as due to health, transportation, or scheduling needs.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 2, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill Introduced · 4 edits · Jan 13, 2026
MODERATE
The bill moved from technical review status to introduced status, with changes to sponsorship (Senator Corrado removed as sponsor; McKnight and Singleton removed as co-sponsors) and the addition of a formal statement section describing the bill's purpose. The operative text requiring school districts, charter schools, and renaissance school projects to offer virtual or remote counseling sessions for students did not change between versions.
TECHNICAL

Bill designation changed from 'S1376 TR' to 'S1376', reflecting transition from technical review to introduced status.

Senator Kristin M. Corrado (District 40) was removed as a sponsor of the bill.

Co-sponsors were reduced from Senators Ruiz, McKnight and Singleton to only Senator Ruiz.

A STATEMENT section was added summarizing the bill's purpose: requiring schools that employ a school psychologist to allow students to attend counseling sessions virtually or remotely, with an exception when in-person is in the student's best interest. It also defines 'school psychologist' as a person holding a New Jersey standard educational services certificate with a school psychologist endorsement.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Mar 2, 2026
Committee
Referred to Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee
upper
2 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors