The Third District Legislators have a particular interest in ensuring that New Jersey provides the highest quality education to its children. As an educator herself, Assemblywoman Riley brings a particularly unique perspective on issues pertaining to education.
- Senator Sweeney, Assemblyman Burzichelli, and Assemblywoman Riley sponsored legislation that would provide supplemental aid to school districts that have experienced significant enrollment growth over the past three years. School districts in the Third Legislative District that would be impacted include East Greenwich Township, Kingsway Regional, South Harrison Township, Swedesboro-Woolwich, and Elmer. The bill was approved by the Legislature on June 25, 2012.
- Senator Sweeney and Assemblywoman Riley sponsored the “Building Our Future Bond Act,” which would ask voters to approve vital funding to finance higher education capital projects that would increase the academic competiveness of New Jersey’s public and private colleges and universities. The bill was approved by the Legislature and needs the Governor’s signature to place it on this November’s ballot.
- Assemblywoman Riley has sponsored several measures to bring attention to the rising cost of a college education, including the establishment of a “Commission on College Tuition,” and a resolution urging Congress to pass legislation to prevent Stafford student loan interest rates from doubling. The resolution passed the Assembly on June 21, 2012 and was filed with the Secretary of State.
- In response to a 2010 report of the Education Trust, which found that only one–in-five students who enrolls in a for-profit higher education institution graduates within six years and is likely to assume greater levels of student loan debt, Assemblyman Burzichelli sponsored the “New Jersey College Student and Parent Consumer Information Act.” The bill would require each proprietary school to annually disclose on its website various measures of student graduation rates, school costs, and student loan indebtedness, among other provisions.
- In light of the fact that technology plays such an important role in the educational process, Assemblywoman Riley sponsored legislation that would allow school districts to apply for emergency state aid for the replacement of technology when circumstances arise during the course of the school year, such as the breakdown of equipment, that interfere with the district’s ability to provide students with critical access to technology.
