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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy proposed $22.2 billion for pre-K-12 education in his 2026 budget, which would include $12.1 billion in school aid, $3 million for a school cellphone ban initiative, and $7.5 million to support high-impact tutoring.
The proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, reflects a roughly $500 million increase in school aid over last year and would mark the second consecutive year that the Murphy administration fully funds the state’s school funding formula.
“With every budget we have introduced, we have provided record-high funding for our K-12 schools,” Murphy said in his budget address in the Assembly Chamber at the statehouse in Trenton on Tuesday. “With our final budget, we will once again fully fund New Jersey’s public education system.”
Before a room full of politicians, former governors, community advocates, and other invited guests, Murphy outlined his $58.1 billion overall state spending plan, which makes hefty appropriations to property tax relief programs and public worker pensions, and includes a proposed surplus of $6.3 billion.
Murphy’s education agenda for his final year in office comes as the federal Department of Education faces potentially consequential disruptions and uncertainty about federal funding looms. To that end, the two-term-limited Democratic governor said the plans would likely need to be modified should an emergency situation arise.
“While I sincerely hope that the situation in Washington settles down, and that we, in turn, have a normal, healthy budget season over the next few months — that is by no means a guarantee,” Murphy said. “There is a distinct possibility that we will, instead, need to pursue a ‘break the glass’ strategy. What that looks like, we cannot yet say. But we must acknowledge and adapt to this new reality.”
Murphy repeated a message from his State of the State address last month: that he intends to work with the Trump Administration. But, he added, he will also defend the civil rights of all residents, including immigrant families and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the rights of educators “to teach the full truth of our history.”
The proposed spending plan must go through negotiations with lawmakers and stakeholders over the next few months before it’s finalized by the June 30 deadline.
Cellphone ban a ‘win-win-win’
Murphy has joined a growing trend nationwide to ban cellphone use during school, following announcements from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also plans to make an announcement this week to implement the initiative in that state.
The proposed $3 million will be available to districts through a competitive grant process to offset the cost for tools that help keep phones out of reach, such as pouches.
Murphy said he believes the initiative is a “win-win-win” for teachers, parents, and students. Without cellphones, “our students can remain focused on their studies, and our educators don’t have to compete with TikTok for their attention,” he said on Tuesday.
New Jersey lawmakers proposed a bill late last year, currently pending action, that would direct the state’s education commissioner to meet with school stakeholders as the education department works on developing cellphone and social media policies.
The excessive use of smartphones and social media can have detrimental effects on youth mental health and academic performance, according to recent studies. In national surveys, many educators have said cellphones are a major distraction in the classroom and most adults support a ban on classroom cellphone use.
However, parents have raised concerns about cellphone bans and there is evidence in other surveys that parents want their children to have a phone in school in case of an emergency.
In Newark Public Schools, the current policy states that electronic devices and cellphones may be brought to school but students may not use them to make calls or take photos or videos from within the school building, unless they receive permission from a school administrator.
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Increases in school aid for some districts, limits to cuts for others
Throughout Murphy’s tenure, state aid to underfunded districts, including Newark, has been increasing incrementally to fulfill the school aid formula established in 2008. The state has used a weighted student formula created under the School Funding Reform Act to give districts financial support in addition to local taxes to help ensure that every student is provided a “thorough and efficient” education, as stipulated in the state constitution. However, the state didn’t provide the full amount owed to underfunded schools until this current fiscal year.
While much-needed funding has increased for historically underfunded districts, other districts have experienced significant cuts. Murphy’s proposal addresses concerns from those districts by capping cuts this year to no more than 3%.
Though the significant increases in school aid for poor districts have received much praise, education advocates say the formula is in serious need of key updates and revisions to meet today’s educational standards.
In the current fiscal year, Newark received a record-high $1.25 billion in aid, which made up roughly 82.3% of the district’s $1.5 billion budget for the 2024-25 school year. Yet, the district remained underfunded per the formula by roughly $112 million due to the local fair share of property taxes.
On Thursday, the governor’s office plans to announce the estimated state aid for school districts. Districts will be able to use those estimates to finalize their own budget proposals for next school year.
Schools Development Authority still needs more funding
Murphy’s proposed budget also includes $350 million for the state Schools Development Authority, the agency responsible for funding school construction projects in Newark and 30 other high-poverty districts in the state. This amount follows a funding schedule established in 2023, according to the governor’s budget-in-brief.
There is an additional $50 million for the SDA from the budget’s general fund to support capital projects in SDA districts, which falls significantly short of the $500 million that a coalition of advocates recently said these districts desperately need for capital projects.
“If significant funding is not appropriated now, the NJSDA may not be able to continue capital projects past the year 2030,” said Nikki Baker, the lead organizer for the coalition Healthy Schools Now. “School facilities funding must be an education priority.”
The expansion of free universal pre-K has been a hallmark of Murphy’s education agenda. As part of his education plan for his final year, Murphy’s plan includes an additional $34.6 million in new funding to continue that program.
He also sets aside $1 million in the budget to incentivize towns to join Newark in lowering the voting age to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to cast ballots in local school board elections. Newark teens will get to vote in the school board election for the first time on April 15.
Fully funding the state’s school aid formula is more crucial now as the threat of federal funding cuts loom, said New Jersey Education Association leaders in an emailed statement.
“We need to protect students from the specter of reckless cuts to federal education funding, and that starts with the state meeting its full obligation, as this budget does,” the statement read.
Catherine Carrera is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Newark. Contact Catherine at ccarrera@chalkbeat.org.
