---
type: "Bill"
title: "Requires institutions of higher education to provide alternative arrangements to students unable to complete certain assignments by regular due date or register for courses because of day of religious observance."
description: "Requires institutions of higher education to provide alternative arrangements to students unable to complete certain assignments by regular due date or register for courses because of day of religious observance."
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "218"
identifier: "S 2397"
citation: "New Jersey S 2397 (218)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["HIGHER ED", "MINORITY"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Gopal, Vin", "Karabinchak, Robert J.", "Pinkin, Nancy J.", "Schaer, Gary S."]
version_count: 1
action_count: 8
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2018-04-05T04:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2018-12-17T05:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/3afa2c5e-05c0-48cf-a3c6-47fc949cea23"
source_url: "http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/downloads.asp"
source_hash: "b35cffa606bdaca0fb5c9e3c37fff0114cc4087c4db6709280b4fea5881689a8"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nj"]
---

# New Jersey S 2397 (218) — Requires institutions of higher education to provide alternative arrangements to students unable to complete certain assignments by regular due date or register for courses because of day of religious observance.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/S2500/2397_I1.HTM)

## Votes

- Reported favorably out of committee — **5–0** (pass) · upper
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **77–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported favorably out of committee — **9–0** (pass) · lower
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **37–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Gopal, Vin — primary (person)
- Karabinchak, Robert J. — primary (person)
- Pinkin, Nancy J. — primary (person)
- Schaer, Gary S. — primary (person)
- Johnson, Gordon M. — cosponsor (person)
- Jones, Patricia Egan — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2018-04-05T04:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2018-05-14T04:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2018-06-25T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (37-0) `passage`
- **2018-06-25T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee `referral-committee`
- **2018-09-13T04:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2018-10-29T04:00:00+00:00** Substituted for A3440
- **2018-10-29T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (Passed Both Houses) (77-0-0) `passage`
- **2018-12-17T05:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2018, c.148. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/3afa2c5e-05c0-48cf-a3c6-47fc949cea23`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).