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New Jersey accountability — school board news

Saturday, October 24, 2026

We bring transparency to school decisions nationwide by tracking school board meetings, district documents, and public data. We use AI tools, rigorously evaluated for accuracy, to search for risks.

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The policy desk

What’s moving in phones

The debate over phones, screens and the school day.

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The policy desk

What’s moving in AI

How artificial intelligence is changing classrooms and school rules.

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The policy desk

What’s moving in student voice

Students speaking up, organizing and helping shape their schools.

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The news desk

Latest New Jersey stories

Gloucester Township School District

A kindergartner was put on the wrong bus, and the board was not told

At the September 21, 2026 meeting a parent described a kindergarten child being put on a school bus on the first day of school instead of going to after-school care. The board president confirmed she had not been notified. Board members used the exchange to ask for a clear rule on when the superintendent must tell the board about a serious child-safety incident, one member saying it needs to be sooner. No policy was adopted at the meeting.

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Montclair Public School District

State flags disproportionate discipline of Black students with disabilities

A September district presentation says the New Jersey Department of Education identified Montclair for significant disproportionality in discipline of Black students with disabilities. State data showed this group’s risk of total disciplinary removals was 4.74 times the comparison group’s in 2022–23, 5.72 times in 2023–24, and 3.42 times in 2024–25.

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Westfield Public School District

Board hires counsel to sue Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube

On September 15, 2026 the board adopted a resolution retaining the Law Office of Robert King and Motley Rice as special litigation counsel to investigate and, if warranted, pursue claims against Meta Platforms and Instagram, ByteDance and TikTok, Snap and Google and YouTube. The resolution ties the district into the coordinated national case In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3047 in the Northern District of California, in which school districts including others in New Jersey have brought claims. The stated basis is the staff time and money Westfield spends on student social media use: counselling and student support services, administrative and disciplinary matters, cyberbullying and harassment, and other student safety and wellness work. The engagement is on a contingency-fee basis with no upfront cost, and the resolution expressly says nothing in it obligates the district to spend money absent a recovery. Legal services were procured as professional services without public bidding under N.J.S.A. 18A:18A-5(a)(1).

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Township of Union School District

Enrolment steadies at about 7,770 and 93% graduate

Union's enrolment fell from 7,966 at the end of 2024-2025 to 7,671 by October 15, 2025, then climbed back through the year to 7,688 in November, 7,711 in December, 7,739 in January, 7,760 in February and 7,770 by March 15, 2026. The district enrolled 772 new students between June 15 and September 15, 2026. In-district enrolment by school for autumn 2026 runs from 473 at Battle Hill and Livingston to 550 at Washington, 922 at Burnet Middle School and 756 at Kawameeh Middle School. Of a 2026 cohort of 636, Union High School graduated 593 students, a 93.2 percent graduation rate.

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Washington Township School District (Gloucester County)

Six of nine board members are conflicted out of the superintendent's case

The board has published resolutions invoking the Doctrine of Necessity - a rarely used legal device - because it cannot otherwise discuss a lawsuit called Hibbs v. Washington Township Board of Education or personnel matters about Superintendent Eric Hibbs. Six of the nine members (Pat Blome, Linda Hartong, Connie Baker, Ralph Ross Sr., Julie Kozempel and Steven Serrano) have identified actual or potential conflicts of interest on anything involving the superintendent. Without them the remaining three are not a quorum, so the board could not even lawfully vote to go into closed session. The resolutions let the conflicted members take part for that narrow purpose only, and state that the conflicts are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

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Jersey City Public Schools

A board seat was filled by appointment, with a one-week window to apply

In July 2026 the board advertised a vacancy on the Jersey City Board of Education and filled it by appointment rather than by election. Any qualified person could ask to be considered by submitting a written request and a resume between July 8 and July 15, 2026 - a window of eight days - by mail, hand delivery to 346 Claremont Avenue, or email to two named staff. The board acted under its own Policy 0143 on board member election and appointment, and the appointment was listed on the notice for its July 16, 2026 special meeting.

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Trenton Public School District

The board's public packet lists out-of-district students by initials alongside their disability classification and school

The finance attachment for the June 29, 2026 meeting publishes the district's out-of-district placement list in a form that pairs each student's initials with a disability classification, the private or regional school they attend and the tuition paid. The same attachment set appears every month the board approves out-of-district tuition. Trenton spent millions on these placements in the year, and the list is the board's supporting document for approving them.

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Closer to home

News from neighboring states

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