Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Updated for the FY2026 grant application cycle for teaching in SY2026-2027

Legislation

The original legislation was signed into law in August 2019 (P.L.2019, c.256) and was amended in November 2022 (P.L.2022, c.119).

General Timeline

• Mid-December: Grant application posted on website
• January 15: Teach STEM Survey deadline
• By January 16: List of interested teachers available to nonpublic schools
• February: Nonpublic schools begin to contact teachers to pursue possible teaching arrangements.
• By March 17: Nonpublic school notifies public school that a teacher employed by the school district plans to participate in the grant program
• April 1: Final deadline for public school to submit valid objection to teacher participation in program (see Public School Objection section for additional information)

Teacher Eligibility

To participate in the program, a teacher must meet the following requirements:

1. Teach full or part-time in a public or renaissance school
2. Teach STEM classes for grades 3 through 12
3. Meet one of the following criteria:
   1. Holds a valid and effective provisional or standard instructional certificate issued by the State Board of Examiners with an endorsement in a science field, mathematics, technology education, or computer science education
   2. Is currently enrolled in a degree program or a coherent sequence of courses in science, mathematics, technology, or computer science
   3. Will enroll in a degree program or a coherent sequence of courses in science, mathematics, technology, or computer science within two years of the effective date
   4. Is currently employed by a public school district to teach in a science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or computer science field and will teach a subject and a grade level in the nonpublic school for which the teacher holds appropriate certification, including certification without a specific subject matter endorsement where permitted by N.J.S.A. 18A:26-1 et seq.

Teachers Holding a K–6 or N–8 (no longer in use) Certification

The K–6 and N–8 are generalized endorsements that allow the holder to teach various content areas and are not considered content-specific endorsements in science, math, tech ed or computer science ed (which are separate content-specific endorsements in STEM fields). However, these endorsements allow the holder to teach STEM subjects through grades 6 and 8, respectively. Under the more recent Teach STEM statute, C.18A:6-137, a fourth eligibility criteria was added to the definition of an eligible teacher.

Charter School Teachers

Charter school teachers are ineligible. The grant applies only to “an eligible teacher employed by a school district…”, which disqualifies charter school teachers.

Teacher Process

Teachers who want to participate in the program can either:

• Complete the TeachSTEM survey, or
• Work directly with a nonpublic school.

Any teacher who completes the survey will be added to the list of interested teachers. Teachers are not required to be included on the list in order to form a partnership. Nonpublic schools can request this list—after January 16, 2026—by emailing NonpublicSTEMGrant@doe.nj.gov or contacting their respective Executive County Office of Education.

The nonpublic schools will contact teachers on the lists directly to pursue possible teaching arrangements.

A teacher can form a partnership with multiple nonpublic schools. Each teacher-nonpublic school partnership will require submission of a separate grant application.

Nonpublic School Application

Partnering with Multiple Teachers

A nonpublic school may partner with more than one teacher. However, the nonpublic school must submit a separate grant application for each teacher. The number of applications approved/funded per nonpublic school may be limited based on the total number of submissions received by the NJDOE.

Joint Applications

More than one nonpublic school can submit one grant application jointly, provided the students from the partnering schools will be in one physical location for the STEM classes. The school in which the STEM classes will be taught will be the lead school.

Teacher’s Contracted Hours

An application shall include the following: acknowledgement from the nonpublic school that the eligible teacher will teach at the nonpublic school during hours during which the teacher has no conflicting public school duties.

Instruction Format

The instruction for STEM classes funded through this program should be provided in a format that is consistent with the nonpublic school’s instructional format at the time and requirements set forth by the NJDOE/Governor.

Public School Objection

A school district employing a public school teacher who wishes to enter into a partnership with a participating nonpublic school can object to the teacher's participation in this grant program. A valid objection may be made by the teacher’s public school district superintendent.

Upon receiving email notification from a nonpublic school that a teacher employed by the school district plans to participate in the grant program, a school district superintendent may submit to the Commissioner or designee any valid objection within 10 business days. If a valid objection from the superintendent is received and accepted by the NJDOE, then the Commissioner or Commissioner’s designee shall reject the application and inform both the teacher and nonpublic school that the application was rejected.

Pursuant to N.J.A.C.18A:6-137 (P.L.2022, c.119):

“Valid objection” means an explanation of why a school district disapproves of an eligible teacher employed by the school district from entering into a partnership with a participating nonpublic school.

A school district with a valid objection shall cite, with sufficient supporting proof, as determined by the Commissioner of Education, one or more of the following reasons:

1. The proposed teaching hours at the nonpublic school conflict with the teacher’s public school work responsibilities and no resolution could be found after consulting with the teacher and nonpublic school, or
2. Approval of a proposed partnership between the nonpublic school and teacher would otherwise substantially impact the quality of student instruction in the school district

If the school district feels the proposed partnership meets one of the above criteria for a valid objection, the superintendent must follow the steps below within 10 business days of receipt of email notification from a nonpublic school that a teacher employed by the public school district plans to participate in this grant program, and in no case later than April 1, 2026. If no objection is submitted within this timeframe, the teacher will be deemed eligible to participate in this program, per the legislation.

Superintendent Steps

1. Forward the email notification of proposed participation (including the application and all attached documents) to the NJDOE at NonpublicSTEMGrant@doe.nj.gov; copy the nonpublic school contact.
2. Provide a written and clear explanation — including evidence of work schedule conflict, if appropriate — that demonstrates a valid objection to the teacher’s proposed partnership, based on the criteria above.

Grant Awards Calculations

A participating teacher shall receive an amount equal to the teacher’s annual salary as calculated on a per-hour basis multiplied by the number of hours the teacher teaches STEM classes at a nonpublic school under the program multiplied by 1.25. The hourly salary shall be based on 180 days per year and seven hours per day.

For part-time teachers, the grant award amount will be based on the teacher’s public school salary as calculated on a per hour basis and the number of hours teaching STEM classes at the nonpublic school. Documentation showing how the hourly rate was determined must be provided along with the application.

Please note: The 2026-27 grant year has limited funding. Therefore, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:6-139(c)2, in the event that sufficient funds are not appropriated to fully fund the compensation to be provided to participating eligible teachers, the commissioner shall apportion the amount appropriated among the participating eligible teachers in proportion to the compensation each participating eligible teacher would have received had the full amount been appropriated.