---
type: "Bill"
title: "Requires public and certain nonpublic schools to offer no-fee option to parents for making school lunch and other payments; requires payment processing platforms used by certain schools to provide users with information on user fees.*"
description: "Requires public and certain nonpublic schools to offer no-fee option to parents for making school lunch and other payments; requires payment processing platforms used by certain schools to provide users with information on user fees.*"
jurisdiction: "us/states/nj"
legislature: "New Jersey Legislature"
session: "221"
identifier: "S 3961"
citation: "New Jersey S 3961 (221)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["SCH BOARDS"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Haider, Shama A.", "Karabinchak, Robert J.", "Morales, Carmen Theresa", "Ruiz, M. Teresa", "Scutari, Nicholas P."]
version_count: 3
action_count: 10
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2024-12-12T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2025-07-08T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/4aaca9b9-78f3-4462-ba3e-797a2564f6b5"
source_url: "https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/leg-databases/"
source_hash: "651daf8a00c47e0423a3a89082d90045234af96dee4ebd8888d38516f376a1fc"
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 3961 (221) — Requires public and certain nonpublic schools to offer no-fee option to parents for making school lunch and other payments; requires payment processing platforms used by certain schools to provide users with information on user fees.*

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced Version** (committee substitute) — [source](https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/S4000/3961_I1.HTM)
2. **Reprint AED 5/8/25 2R** (committee substitute) — [source](https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/S4000/3961_R2.HTM)
3. **Reprint SED 1/30/25 1R** (committee substitute) — [source](https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2024/S4000/3961_R1.HTM)

## Votes

- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **38–0** (pass) · upper
- CONCUR ASMB AMEND — **38–0** (pass) · upper
- 3RDG FINAL PASSAGE — **78–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported out of Senate committee with amendments — **5–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported out of Assembly committee with amendments — **9–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Haider, Shama A. — primary (person)
- Karabinchak, Robert J. — primary (person)
- Morales, Carmen Theresa — primary (person)
- Ruiz, M. Teresa — primary (person)
- Scutari, Nicholas P. — primary (person)
- Burgess, Renee C. — cosponsor (person)
- McKnight, Angela V. — cosponsor (person)
- Reynolds-Jackson, Verlina — cosponsor (person)
- Wimberly, Benjie E. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-12-12T05:00:00+00:00** Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2025-01-30T05:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Senate Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (38-0) `passage`
- **2025-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Education Committee `referral-committee`
- **2025-05-08T04:00:00+00:00** Reported out of Assembly Committee with Amendments, 2nd Reading `committee-passage`
- **2025-05-22T04:00:00+00:00** Substituted for A5263 (1R)
- **2025-05-22T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Assembly (78-0-0) `passage`
- **2025-05-29T04:00:00+00:00** Received in the Senate, 2nd Reading on Concurrence
- **2025-06-02T04:00:00+00:00** Passed Senate (Passed Both Houses) (38-0) `passage`
- **2025-07-08T04:00:00+00:00** Approved P.L.2025, c.94. `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/4aaca9b9-78f3-4462-ba3e-797a2564f6b5`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Jersey legislature records).