Dear Recipient's Title and Name:

With the safety and health of all of New Jersey’s students at the forefront of every parent’s mind as schools reopened this month, I write to request your support for an increase in nonpublic nursing aid and compensatory and supplemental education services funding.

1. In order to ensure that schools reopened in accordance with state requirements, schools were forced to spend significant unbudgeted funds. One area that each school continues to struggle with is employing school nurses. Nurses are first responders in cases of emergencies and coordinate the planning, training, screening and contact tracing practices at each school. Simply put, the threat of the Coronavirus emphasizes the need for a full-time nurse in all schools – public and nonpublic. Therefore, we respectfully request your consideration for an increase in nonpublic school nursing services aid.

2. Another area, among many, that has seen significant disruption during the pandemic, which magnified an ongoing funding issue nonpublic schools have faced for many years, is with special education services. As we have seen, students who require remedial services have been most severely impacted by the changes to their educational regimen. While the state has done its best to ensure the continuity of Compensatory Education (remedial services for Language Arts, Reading and Mathematics) and Supplemental Education (evaluation and determination of eligibility for special education and related services, supplementary instruction, and speech-language services), challenges have persisted. Therefore, we respectfully request consideration to increase the allocation for Ch.192 and Ch.193 services. This will help to assure that these needed services are provided to children who are most vulnerable to the difficulties associated with a disruption in their normal education experience.

Thank you for your consideration,

Sincerely,
Your Full Name

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