©2024 New Jersey Association of School Business Officials

The State of New Jersey REQUIRES anyone employed in the position of School Business Administrator or Assistant School Business Administrator to be licensed by the State.  There are three distinct steps to becoming fully and permanently licensed.   The three steps are obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility, followed by a Provisional Certificate and finally a Permanent Standard Certificate. The process is as follows:

Step One: Certificate of Eligibility (CE) - To be eligible for the School Business Administrator Certificate of Eligibility the candidate shall: hold a Master's Degree or higher or be in possession of a Certified Public Accountant License and complete at least 18 credits of study in the following areas:

(a) Economic (b) Law; (c) Accounting; (d) Organizational Theory; (e) Management or Administration and (f) Finance (6A:9B-12.7). Candidates may apply for a Certificate of Eligibility online through the New Jersey Department of Education/Licensing and Credentials Department at  http://www.nj.gov/education/educators/license/endorsements/0109CE.pdf . This department evaluates the credentials and makes the determination of eligibility. Once the Certificate of Eligibility is obtained, the individual can seek employment in any district within the state.

Step Two: Provisional Certificate- Once a candidate with a CE is hired by a public school district in either position noted above, the candidate must be registered for their Provisional Certificate.  Immediately upon obtaining that position and certificate the candidate must commence a training and mentorship program. NJASBO IS THE ONLY ENTITY AUTHORIZED BY THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY TO CONDUCT AND OVERSEE THIS REQUIRED TRAINING AND MENTORSHIP PROGRAM.  The candidate's district will apply for the Provisional Certificate and the candidate should immediately contact Jamie Bentz at NJASBO (jamie@njasbo.com) to begin their residency. Under the guidance of a certified mentor, the individual must successfully complete a one (up to two) year residency, and 145 clock hours of instruction. Classes completed after January 1, 2021, will be valid for 2 years. Candidates who completed a course prior to January 1, 2021, will have those specific courses grandfathered, provided they are not older than 5 years at the time they commence their residency. Class waivers will not be granted.

Step Three: Permanent Standard Certificate- Upon successful completion of the mentoring program required instruction and associated evaluations, the mentor and NJASBO will jointly make a determination whether to approve the candidate for their Permanent Standard Certificate.

Additional details regarding the instructional and mentoring program conducted by NJASBO can be found within our Mentor Handbook which can be found HERE.                                                                                                                              

Certification Instruction- The 145 Clock Hours are contained within the following disciplines; School Finance/Accounting/Reporting (50 hours); Insurance/Risk Management (20 hours); Economic & Legal Ramifications (20 hours); Labor Relations/Personnel Management (20 hours); School Plant Planning (20 hours); Food Service (5 hours); Pupil Transportation (5 hours) and Core Curriculum Content Standards (5 hours).  NOTE: These classes are offered at the two locations below, however with a few exceptions they are only offered once a year. All classes MUST be taken, waivers will not be granted for any Certification Class.

Classes will consist of a combination of in-person instruction, webinars and projects. Preference will be given to those currently in a School Business Administrator or Assistant School Business Administrator position. Anyone else wishing to attend these classes, please email Jamie Bentz at jamie@njasbo.com to check availability.

SESSION DAYS/LOCATIONS

All classes are scheduled In-person on Saturdays unless otherwise noted.  

Central location: NJASBO Conference Center, 4 AAA Drive, Robbinsville, NJ 08691

Northern location: Morris County Public Safety Training Academy, 500 West Hanover Avenue, Morris Plains, NJ 07950