New Jersey Students Still Waiting as FY27 Budget Fails to Address School Facilities Needs

Education Law Center (ELC) is deeply disappointed that the State’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget does not include significant new funding to address New Jersey’s longstanding school facilities needs, leaving thousands of students in aging, overcrowded, and inadequate school buildings.

Despite decades of court rulings affirming the State’s constitutional obligation to provide adequate school facilities and repeated findings documenting extensive unmet needs, the FY27 state budget contains no meaningful plan to address the billions of dollars in school construction and modernization projects that remain outstanding across the State.

The omission is particularly troubling given the time required to plan, design, and construct school facilities. Without additional investment, many students will continue to attend school in buildings that are outdated, overcrowded, or in need of major repair while critical projects are pushed further into the future.

“The courts have long made clear that New Jersey has a constitutional obligation to provide students with safe and adequate school facilities,” said Robert Kim, Executive Director of Education Law Center. “The failure to include meaningful new facilities funding in this budget raises serious concerns about how that obligation will be fulfilled. Without a credible plan to address the billions of dollars in remaining need, continued judicial involvement may once again become the only practical means of ensuring compliance with the Constitution.”

New Jersey has made substantial progress through previous school construction investments, particularly in districts where the State bears primary responsibility for facilities funding. Yet significant unmet needs remain throughout the state, and advocates, educators, parents, and students have continued to call for a renewed commitment to school facilities funding.

ELC will continue working with policymakers, community partners, and families to advance a comprehensive and sustainable solution to New Jersey’s school facilities crisis. However, the State’s constitutional obligation is clear, and students should not be forced to wait any longer for the safe, healthy, and educationally adequate learning environments they are guaranteed under the New Jersey Constitution.

Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240