Official Site of The State of New Jersey

Jump to a topic:

• Overview
• Acceptable Expenditures
• Accounting at Local District Level
• Delivery, Storage, and Disposition of Technology
• District Responsibilities
• Eligibility
• Fees and Charges
• Fiscal Audit and Retention of Records
• Nonpublic Completion Report
• Purchasing Rules
• State Aid

The goals of the program are to:

1. Provide nonpublic school pupils with computers, educational software, distance learning equipment and other technologies that meet their specific educational needs.
2. Give nonpublic school teachers the skills and resources to use educational technologies effectively to improve teaching and learning in the classroom.

A school district must provide the technology to the nonpublic school and cannot provide the State aid funds directly to a nonpublic school. A school district must maintain administrative control over all funds and purchases and must ensure that all items and services purchased with the State aid are used solely for the purpose of enhancing the instruction of nonpublic school students through the use of technology. The technology provided must be used for secular/nonsectarian and non-ideological purposes.

Definitions

Per pupil

Per pupil means each pupil enrolled on the last school day prior to October 16 of the preceding school year.

Eligible pupil

An eligible pupil is any child who is a resident of the State and who is enrolled as a full-time student in a nonpublic school in grades kindergarten through twelve. A child who boards at a school but whose parents do not maintain a residence in the State shall not be deemed a resident of the State for the purposes of this program. An eligible kindergarten pupil must meet the age requirements of the district where the nonpublic school is located.

Technology

Technology means using the tools of educational technology (equipment, software, professional development, etc.) to extend and enhance instruction for nonpublic school students. It does not include instructional services directed to nonpublic school students.

Acceptable expenditures include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Equipment and supplies (hardware)
• Maintenance
• Miscellaneous
• Professional development
• Software

Equipment and Supplies (Hardware)

• 3-D printers, laser cutters, wood, vinyl, plasma cutter or similar device for science technology, engineering or math (STEM) activities
• Computers: multimedia, tablets, hand-held devices, server computers for shared files, electronic mail and internet communications
• Data communications systems: local area networks (including multiple connects for every classroom)
• Digital and video cameras, GPS, drones
• Graphing calculators, scientific probes, data loggers & electronic response systems
• Memory cards and wireless cards
• Projection devices and other peripheral equipment shared by computer systems (microscopes)
• Satellite dish
• Wide area network: high-speed network links that connect schools together, high-speed Internet connection serving more than one school

Note: Hardware that is network-wide is limited to nonpublic schools that are secular/non-religious.

Maintenance

Contracts or per diem support to make sure equipment purchased and loaned to a nonpublic school by a board of education (through this initiative) is maintained and remains usable.

Miscellaneous

• Data communications systems: local area networks, including multiple connects for every classroom (network cards, internal wiring, wireless cards)
• Environmentally safe disposal of old equipment from this program
• Insurance for any purchases
• New leases and continuation of previous leases under this program
• Wireless and wide area network: high-speed network links that connect schools together, high-speed Internet connections serving more than one school (e.g. routers, hubs, switches)

Note: State aid funds may not be expended for the construction of nonpublic school facilities, for capital improvements or permanent fixtures. "Permanent fixture” is defined as any property, including equipment and machinery, that is permanently attached or fixed to real property and cannot be removed without damage to the building or premises.

Professional Development

Professional development training may be provided to nonpublic school teachers on-site in a nonpublic school or online. All professional development must occur within the annual funding timeline (July 1–June 30).

• Training that develops and enhances teachers’ technology skills for instructional purposes
• Workshops and conferences focused on integrating technology into instruction (registration fees)

Software

• Barcoding software and apps for instructional purposes
• Online programming and subscriptions to support instruction
• Programs used as applications to support nonreligious instructional programs
• Upgrade of operating system software

The district board of education in which the nonpublic school is located must maintain the accounting for the Nonpublic School Technology Program on an encumbrance basis. A separate general account control "Nonpublic Technology Initiative Program" must be maintained on the program activities. The coding of all expenditures shall be recorded under "Special Revenue Funds-State Projects” account #20-510-XXX-XXX (XXX represents the appropriate function code and object code, respectively). See the list of allowable costs in the “Acceptable Expenditures” section later in this document. In the financial records, the district board of education must maintain a separate accounting for each nonpublic school’s technology program activities. Expenditures for the purchase of equipment may include the cost of freight or transporting such equipment from the vendor to the delivery site. Collections for charges due to the loss, damage, or destruction of the equipment should be recorded as "Miscellaneous Revenue" and credited to the nonpublic school #20-510 account.

State aid received by the district board of education pursuant to this program must be recorded as “Special Revenue Funds-Revenue from State Sources; Restricted Entitlements” in account #20-3240-510.

All purchases will remain the property of the district board of education in which the nonpublic school is located and such ownership should be indicated on the technology by labels. Technology purchased must be labeled as “Property of the [xyz district board of education] and purchased with funds from the Nonpublic School Technology Program SY 20XX”.

Technology may be delivered directly to the nonpublic school if the nonpublic school and district administrators agree. If delivered directly to the nonpublic school, the nonpublic school administrator must check the invoice and forward it to the district board of education.

After consultation with the nonpublic school administrator, technology may also reach a nonpublic school as follows:

1. The nonpublic school may arrange to pick up the technology.
2. The local board of education may deliver the technology to the nonpublic school.

The district may require that technology be returned to the board of education at the end of the school year for storage or when it is no longer required for the purposes of this program, or the district may enter into an agreement with the nonpublic school to store the technology in the nonpublic school at the end of the school year. In the latter case, the district may not pay storage charges of any kind to the nonpublic school, nor can the public school charge the nonpublic school for storage.

The board of education in each public school district having nonpublic schools within its boundaries is responsible for providing technology to the nonpublic schools within the limits of the funds provided by this program. The technology may be provided directly by the board of education, by contracts with an educational services commission, or an independent contractor.

Consultation with the Nonpublic School

The chief school administrator or designee of the board of education of the public school district must confer with the administrator of each of the participating nonpublic schools within the district. For timely delivery of services and products, the Department recommends that consultation occur before the start of the school year in which the funds are to be expended.

The consultation requirements are as follows:

1. To advise the nonpublic school of the funds available.
2. To agree on the technology to be provided.
3. To agree on the date when the board of education will meet to approve how the technology will be provided to the nonpublic school.

If the chief school administrator or designee and the nonpublic school administrator cannot reach agreement on the technology to be provided, the executive county superintendent must make the final determination.

Grade Levels

A board of education for an elementary constituent district of a limited purpose regional school district must provide the technology for nonpublic schools having the grade levels for which the district has responsibility. The elementary constituent district must provide the technology for all the grades of these nonpublic schools. A board of education for a limited purpose regional school district must provide the technology for nonpublic high schools that do not have elementary school grades.

Information to be Submitted by October 1

Each board of education providing technology to nonpublic schools must submit the following information to the executive county superintendent on or before October 1, and forward a copy to the administrators of the nonpublic schools within their district boundaries: A written statement verifying that the required conference with the nonpublic school administrator was held, with agreed upon technology to be purchased and the timelines for purchases and implementation.

Refunds

If a nonpublic school declines to participate, a refund check should not be sent to the Department. (Any such checks that the Department receives will be returned to the district.) All refunds will be collected through a State aid payment deduction after the district has completed the Nonpublic Project Completion Report (NPCR).

Only nonpublic schools that indicate their intent to participate on the Nonpublic School Enrollment Report are eligible to receive technology in the following school year.

Additionally, the nonpublic school must:

• Be registered with the New Jersey Department of Education
• Complete the Nonpublic Enrollment Report annually

The funds expended by a board of education for the administrative costs related to providing technology for a participating nonpublic school must be limited to the actual cost of administering the program or five percent (5%) of the funds allocated for each participating nonpublic school, whichever is less. If a school district chooses to contract with an educational services commission or other third-party provider for the administration of this program, it may, at its discretion, retain the fee or pass it on to the third party contractor.

The Nonpublic Technology Program expenditure records will be audited locally. All records relating to the program must be retained for audit purposes. The audit will be done as a regular part of the district board of education’s prescribed audit procedures. The board of education audit report will include a financial schedule or statement identifying receipts and expenditures applicable to the Nonpublic School Technology Program.

Following the completion of fiscal operations, the district board of education shall report to the Department the total cost of the Nonpublic School Technology Program expenditures in the Nonpublic Project Completion Report (NPCR).

The NPCR should include the following items:

1. Amount approved for each nonpublic school
2. Total State Aid received
3. Total of all encumbrances incurred for each nonpublic school
4. Oustanding unliquidated encumbrances
5. Nonpublic School Technology Program funds on hand

In the event that the district board of education has been paid funds in excess of the amount finally required for the program costs, the excess funds will be deducted from the State aid payment in the subsequent fiscal year. Districts must not send a refund check to the Department; any such checks that the Department receives will be returned to the district. All refunds will be collected through a State aid payment deduction after the district has completed the NPCR.

State purchasing regulations apply to school districts that are purchasing services or products that are required through State-funded nonpublic school programs. The district board of education must ensure that procurement and expenditures are made in accordance with the requirements of Public School Contracts Law (see N.J.S.A. 18A:18A et seq.), Local Public School Contracts Laws Administrative Code (N.J.A.C. 5:34-1 et seq.), and their own district purchasing rules and policies. School districts may also use State Cooperative Purchasing Contracts for technology purchases, as appropriate.

Additional information is found on the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Public School Contracts Law website.

The State aid provided to the school district for each participating nonpublic school in the district will be an amount equal to the product of the rate per pupil authorized in the language of the Annual Appropriations Act and the number of eligible pupils on roll in the nonpublic school as of the last school day prior to October 16 of the previous school year, as recorded on the Nonpublic School Enrollment Report.

State aid will be paid in full to school districts by early August. Unexpended state aid must be included in the Nonpublic Project Completion Report (NPCR).