NJ S2494

Allows chief school administrators or private schools for students with disabilities to apply for emergency endorsements to instructional certificates for teachers in high-need fields, including bilingual/bicultural education, when no suitable certified candidates can be found

Requires emergency endorsement candidates to already hold a certificate of eligibility or standard instructional certificate, be enrolled in coursework at an accredited four-year institution in the high-need field, and pass applicable subject matter exams

Emergency endorsements are renewable annually for up to two times (maximum three years total in any high-need field) and are valid only for employment at the requesting school district or private school

Limits emergency endorsement holders to no more than 20 percent of a school district's or private school's teaching staff

Requires the Department of Education to publish a list of eligible high-need fields online and mandates the State Board of Education to annually reevaluate which fields qualify