Montessori-Related Legislation
In Progress: Bills Introduced to Allow Montessori Credentialed Teachers Route to NJ State Teacher Certification
In early October 2022, Sen. Vin Gopal and Rep. Pamela Lampitt introduced bills S3172 and A4689 into the NJ state legislature. These bills establish an NJ state teacher certification route for candidates with Montessori teaching credentials and a bachelor’s degree. This bill, similar to those passed in nearly a dozen other states, could help alleviate the teacher shortage, pave the way for public Montessori programs, and give a path for the more than 200 private Montessori preschools to become private providers for districts. After passing the Education Committee unanimously, and with no current opposition from stakeholder groups, constituents are encouraged to ask their representatives to co-sponsor this bill in the hopes of it passing into law before the end of 2023.
Ways to help:
Sign Up for Updates.
Call Your Representatives.
As a constituent, your representatives want to hear from you! We encourage you to call your senator and two assemblypersons to voice your support for these bills.
Submit a letter of support.
Submitting written testimony is a great way to make a tangible impact on the bills and garner support for co-sponsors. We provide a template for you to copy & paste into a new document to fill in with your info.
Once your letter is finished, please email it to us and we’ll submit it directly to the committees for you!
Share this page!
Know people who would support this bill? Please share this page with them and encourage them to be proactive in getting this bill passed! The more constituents speak up, the more likely this bill is to pass.
