New Jersey legislation · 2026-2027 Regular Session
New Jersey S4660: Public school instruction-require to include significance of Juneteenth
Status: In committee, October 1, 2026
Requires school districts to include instruction on significance of Juneteenth Independence Day as part of implementation of New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Social Studies.
What the bill says
An Act concerning public school instruction on the significance of Juneteenth Independence Day and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
From the introduced text, October 1, 2026:
An Act concerning public school instruction on the significance of Juneteenth Independence Day and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes. Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. The Legislature finds and declares that: a. Juneteenth Independence Day, also known as Juneteenth, Emancipation Day and Black Independence Day, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. b. Juneteenth commemorates the events of June 19, 1865, in which Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston, Texas to announce the end of the Civil War and that enslaved persons in the Confederate States were made free through the Emancipation Proclamation. c. Word of the ending of slavery in the Confederate States finally reached the slaves in Texas approximately two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863. d. The news was welcomed joyously and celebrated by the hundreds of thousands of enslaved men, women, and children who had continued to toil as slaves following the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War. e. The celebration of Juneteenth symbolizes African American freedom, celebrates the abolition of slavery, and reminds all Americans of the significant contributions African Americans have made to society. …
Sponsors
- Joseph P. Cryan (D, 20) · primary sponsor
- Angela V. McKnight (D, 31) · primary sponsor
- Linda R. Greenstein (D, 14)
- Gordon M. Johnson (D, 37)
Latest actions
- : INT 1RS REF SED
Subjects: MINORITY AND ETHNIC AFFAIRS, EDUCATION - SCHOOL BOARDS AND DISTRICTS, EDUCATION - CURRICULA, CIVIL RIGHTS
Common questions
- What is S4660?
- S4660 is a bill in the New Jersey Legislature (2026-2027 Regular Session): Public school instruction-require to include significance of Juneteenth.
- What does S4660 do?
- In its own words: An Act concerning public school instruction on the significance of Juneteenth Independence Day and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
- What is the status of S4660?
- In committee as of October 1, 2026. Latest action: INT 1RS REF SED (October 1, 2026).
- Who sponsored S4660?
- Joseph P. Cryan (D, 20), with 3 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for S4660?
- On the New Jersey Legislature website: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2026/S4660
Source: official New Jersey record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.