The Legislature returned from its summer break last week and several Assembly committees met at the State House, advancing a variety of bills relevant to boards of education in New Jersey.
The New Jersey School Boards Association is monitoring all bills relevant to boards of education and will continue to post timely Legislative Updates in School Board Notes to highlight recent legislative action. For recordings of committee meetings and the most up-to-date information regarding specific legislation, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.
Assembly Education Committee
The Assembly Education Committee met on Monday, Sept. 14 and approved the following bills relevant to boards of education:
School Security Pilot Program A-5186, as amended, would establish a School Security Pilot Program within NJDOE. The program would supplement mental health services for public school students and provide security infrastructure to school districts that have applied to and been selected by the Commissioner of Education. The mental health program would incorporate individual and group clinical mental health services, referrals to community-based mental health care providers, evidence-based interventions, mental health screenings, and crisis intervention. The pilot program would also provide additional security supports for selected school districts, including expanded access to training for active shooter scenarios, rolling mobile ballistic shield systems, and other protective equipment as deemed necessary by the commissioner. Finally, the bill would appropriate $15 million.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill. Its counterpart in the Senate, S-569, was approved by the Senate Education Committee in May.
Harassment and Bullying in Nonpublic Schools A-5254, titled the “Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act,” would prohibit bullying of nonpublic school students and require each nonpublic school to adopt an anti-harassment and bullying policy. The bill establishes requirements for nonpublic schools that are separate from those already established for public schools; under current state law, each public school is required to abide by the provisions of the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act,” and while nonpublic schools are encouraged to comply with the provisions of that act, they are not required to do so.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill.
Fiscal Oversight Reform Package The committee also approved the following package of bills – sponsored by Assemblywoman Bagolie – focused on fiscal oversight and budgeting reform:
- A-5205 and A-5208 were merged into a committee substitute bill. The committee substitute would establish certain valuation and reporting mechanisms related to school district liabilities for accumulated unused leave, including: 1) requiring a school district, in its annual audit, to calculate the total value of accrued liabilities for compensated absences of district employees; 2) requiring a school district to maintain a current schedule of accrued liabilities for compensated absences that details various information and to provide that report to the board of education monthly and quarterly; 3) requiring the Commissioner of Education to examine a school district’s level of liabilities for compensated absences; 4) requiring a collective bargaining agreement to incorporate statements and analyses concerning liabilities for compensated absences; and 5) permitting a board of education to establish a leave liability reserve account to be used to finance the payment of accumulated unused absences for which an employee may be compensated. The bill would also authorize a board of education to establish a cost stabilization reserve account to finance unanticipated increases in total health care costs, student transportation expenses, and special education and related services. Finally, the bill would permit a board of education to apply to the Commissioner of Education for approval to make mid-year budget adjustments to address significant unanticipated cost increases in general fund expenses.
- A-5206 would establish procedures to be followed by chief school administrators, school business administrators, boards of education, and school employees related to the financial management and fiscal stability of districts. These new procedures would include quarterly reconciliations of a district’s position control roster by the chief school administrator; the required adoption of a board policy regarding the reporting of fiscal concerns in a district; and additional training for school business administrators and board of education members concerning school budgeting, governmental accounting, and financial commitments. As amended, the bill would also require a purchasing agent to certify that a board of education has acted in accordance with the provisions of the Public School Contracts Law prior to the awarding or approval of a purchase, contract, or agreement, and if the board has not done so, the purchasing agent would be required to file a report with the Office of Controversies and Disputes within NJDOE.
- A-5207 would expand the duties of the executive county business official and establish processes for the fiscal review of school districts by the executive county superintendent and the Commissioner of Education. The bill would require the executive county business official to, on a rolling basis, conduct fiscal reviews of each school district under its purview on a timeline established by the executive county superintendent, and would require the establishment of corrective action plans for certain school districts whose fiscal reviews identify significant fiscal concerns in two consecutive reviews. The bill would also require the commissioner, in consultation with the State Comptroller, to develop and administer a Comprehensive Statewide Fiscal Early Warning System to monitor financial risk indicators to enable timely and structured intervention of districts that are at risk of financial distress.
The NJSBA provided verbal testimony on the bill package. The Association expressed appreciation for numerous components of the package, including: the ability for boards of education to establish leave liability reserve accounts and cost stabilization reserve accounts, which will give boards additional tools to achieve financial flexibility; periodic review of position control rosters; expanded capacity of executive county business officials; and the development of a fiscal early warning system, which may help districts anticipate and proactively address potential fiscal difficulties. At the same time, the NJSBA expressed a need to further ensure that school districts have the resources and capacity to execute on these additional oversight measures with fidelity. Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee
The Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee met on Monday, Sept. 14 and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
New Jersey History Day Act S-4307/A-5251, known as the “New Jersey History Day Act,” would designate December 18 of each year as “New Jersey History Day.” The bill would permit each school district to annually observe “New Jersey History Day” by commemorating the state’s history through appropriate instructional activities aligned with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Social Studies. The bill also provides that the New Jersey Historical Commission, in consultation with the Department of Education, would develop and distribute resource materials for school districts, promote statewide participation in the celebration of “New Jersey History Day,” and provide grants to support appropriate programs and activities to observe “New Jersey History Day.”
The NJSBA supports the bill, which was passed by the Senate in June.
Assembly Regulated Professions Committee
The Assembly Regulated Professions Committee met on Thursday, Sept. 10 and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
Speech-Language Services A-4954 would modify certain provisions of law concerning speech-language specialists. First, the bill would remove statutory references to “speech correctionist” and replace those references with “speech-language specialist” or “speech-language pathologist”. The bill would also require child study team consultation for classification of students with communication impairments and would require a basic child study team to include a speech-language specialist for students with a classification of preschool child with a disability, communication impairment, or eligible for speech-language services. Finally, the bill would amend current law to define the circumstances under which a board of education may contract with a private agency or clinic approved by NJDOE for speech-language services. Specifically, the bill would authorize that contracting authority “to supplement existing district staff for temporary vacancies when the board is unable to hire sufficient staff to provide speech-language services.”
The NJSBA testified during the committee meeting, asking that the bill be second-referenced to the Assembly Education Committee in order to give the full education community an opportunity to comment. The Association also expressed concerns about the potential of the contracting provision of the bill to narrow current flexibility provided by NJDOE regulations to contract out for speech-language services under certain circumstances.
Assembly Community Development and Women’s Affairs Committee
The Assembly Community Development and Women’s Affairs Committee met on Thursday, Sept. 10 and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
Employee Accommodations for Breastfeeding A-4704 would clarify protections provided in the “Law Against Discrimination” to working mothers who are breastfeeding. Specifically, the bill requires an employer to accommodate an employee who is breastfeeding or expressing milk for as long as the employee desires. It clarifies that lactating employees would be entitled to reasonable break time paid at the employee’s regular rate of compensation, job restructuring, and a modified work schedule for milk expression. The bill would also require an employer to provide a suitable room or other location with privacy, free from intrusion of other employees or customers of the employer’s business, other than a restroom, for milk expression.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill. Its Senate counterpart, S-2689, was approved by the Senate Labor Committee in March.
To view the full text of any of the bills summarized above, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.
