Repealing the Teacher Residency Requirement

The New Jersey First Act requires that all state employees, including teachers, must live in New Jersey within one year of starting their jobs. This law places an unfair burden on teachers and their families, particularly those who work near state borders. Teachers should have the flexibility to live where they want and should not have to go through a time-consuming, burdensome process to be exempted from this requirement. We’re calling for a repeal of the residency requirement to give New Jersey teachers the flexibility they deserve. In June of 2014, we saw the introduction of a bill (S2169) that would repeal the residency requirement for school personnel in ten New Jersey counties as part of a pilot program. We and several of our partners presented testimony at the Senate State Government Committee in support of this bill. The bill passed this committee, but unfortunately did not move further before the legislature’s summer break. We will continue to work with partners to pursue a broader repeal if possible.