The Senate Education Committee met on Thursday, Oct. 1, and considered a full agenda of bills related to bullying. Several other committees met over the last week and approved legislation relevant to boards of education.
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.
Senate Education Committee
The Senate Education Committee met on Thursday, Oct. 1 and approved the following bills relevant to boards of education:
Anti-Bullying Youth Council S-175, as amended, would establish an Anti-Bullying Commission and Anti-Bullying Youth Council in the Department of Education. The Commission would continually examine, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding the implementation of the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act.” The Council would provide a forum for New Jersey youth to advise the Anti-Bullying Commission on the unique perspectives, experiences, and needs of youth related to bullying in public and nonpublic schools. The Council would research, analyze, discuss, and make specific recommendations to the Commission on ways to prevent and respond to bullying in schools.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill.
Expansion of HIB Definition S-253 would broaden the definition of “harassment, intimidation, or bullying” in the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act. As currently defined, an act of “harassment, intimidation, or bullying” is required to meet several criteria, including that being reasonably perceived as being motivated by an actual or perceived characteristic. The current definition sets forth examples of such characteristics – race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, mental, physical or sensory disability, or other distinguishing characteristic. This bill would eliminate the requirement that the conduct is motivated by these actual or perceived distinguishing characteristics from the definition.
The NJSBA testified in front of the committee and expressed concerns that deleting the “distinguishing characteristic” clause from the current HIB definition could have unintended consequences that make it harder for districts to foster safe, supportive school environments. The Association believes the existing definition serves an important role by helping to distinguish behavior triggering HIB’s protocol from behavior handled through a district’s code of student conduct and is concerned that subjecting additional conduct to HIB procedures risks subverting that intent. The NJSBA offered alternatives to the proposed approach, including requiring additional guidance or training on the meaning of “other distinguishing characteristic” under the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act and best practices in progressive discipline under student codes of conduct.
CTE Grant Program S-2597 would require the Commissioner of Education to establish a four-year Career and Technical Education Partnership Grant Program. The incentive program would award grants to county vocational school districts and other school districts that operate approved CTE programs to partner with urban districts, other school districts, county colleges, and other entities to create high-quality CTE programs in existing facilities. All school districts that operate approved CTE programs – not just county vocational school districts – would be eligible.
The NJSBA supports the bill.
Online Reporting of HIB S-4102 would require each district’s policy prohibiting harassment, intimidation, or bullying to include a procedure that permits a person to electronically report an act of HIB using an online reporting form, which would be accessible on the district’s website. The bill would also require the Commissioner of Education to adopt amendments to its existing HIB model policy to establish procedures for online reporting. The bill would build on existing law (P.L.2021, c.338) that requires districts to provide a means for parents/guardians to complete an online form developed by NJDOE to confidentially report a HIB incident.
The NJSBA supports the bill.
Enrollment of Twins in Preschool S-4349, as amended, would permit a parent or guardian of twins or higher order multiples enrolled in public preschool operated by a school district, Head Start program, or licensed childcare provider to select shared or separate classroom placements for their children. The bill would additionally permit the parent or guardian of twins or higher order multiples to request that the twins or higher order multiples be treated as one unit in a public preschool lottery system or open enrollment.
The NJSBA supports the bill.
Mandated HIB Instruction S-4457, as amended, would require the State Board of Education, during the next scheduled update to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS), to review and update the NJSLS and the New Jersey Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards (NJPTLS) to ensure the incorporation of age-appropriate instruction on bullying awareness and prevention in an appropriate place in the curriculum for students in preschool through grade 12. Prior to the next scheduled NJSLS review, the bill would require the Commissioner of Education to provide school districts with sample learning activities and resources regarding bullying awareness and prevention that may be incorporated into a district’s existing curriculum.
The NJSBA testified in support of the bill after successfully seeking amendments to align the instructional requirement with the State Board’s standards review process and to eliminate a requirement for districts to incorporate instruction into their curriculum prior to the next scheduled NJSLS and NJPTLS updates.
Harassment and Bullying in Nonpublic Schools S-4467, 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 would establish 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. Its counterpart in the Assembly, A-5254, was approved by the Assembly Education Committee in September.
Bullying Prevention Month SJR-57 would designate October of each year as “Bullying Prevention Month” in New Jersey.
The NJSBA supports the resolution.
Senate Labor Committee
The Senate Labor Committee met on Thursday, Oct. 1 and approved the following bills relevant to boards of education:
Statewide Youth Apprenticeship Program S-1831, as amended, would require the Commissioner of Labor and Workplace Development to establish a dedicated youth apprenticeship program for students aged 16 to 21 years old. Under the bill, the program would be required to include, but not be limited to, creating career-connected learning in high school for students in 11th grade and 12th grade; combining paid, on-the-job training with dual-enrollment in community colleges; and creating pre-apprenticeship pathways into registered programs in high-demand sectors, including but not limited to health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing, and green jobs. The bill would appropriate $25 million for the program.
The NJSBA supports the bill.
Protected Leave for Death of Child and Miscarriage S-2046, as amended, would permit an employee to take family leave granted by the New Jersey “Family Leave Act” to grieve the loss of a child due to the death of the child, or miscarriage, stillbirth, or termination of a pregnancy for medical reasons.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill.
Employment-Based AI Regulations S-4075 would regulate the use of systems using artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies in places of employment and for public services. Specifically, the bill would regulate AI used in electronic monitoring tools to collect and process a wide range of data and information about workers and job applicants and AI used by automated employment decision-making systems in making employment-related decisions such as hiring and firing. The bill would also regulate automated benefit and service decision-making systems used in making decisions related to providing public benefits and services.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill.
Discrimination Based on Labor Organization Membership S-4285 would extend protection under the Law Against Discrimination (P.L.1945, c.169) to members of a labor organization. The bill would revise the definition of “labor organization” to include any organization of any kind (including a labor union or any agency or employee representation committee or plan) in which public or private employees participate and which exists and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining, or of dealing with public or private employers concerning grievances, terms or conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill.
Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee met on Monday, Oct. 5 and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
Outreach for Free and Reduced-Price School Meals A-5439/S-4664 would amend the FY2027 appropriations act to require 2.5 percent of the appropriation for the Working Class Families State Supplement to be utilized for informational and outreach activities to increase awareness of the program. The Working Class Families State Supplement supports expanded eligibility for the free and reduced-price school breakfast and lunch program for working class and middle-income families with household income between 186 percent and 224 percent of the federal poverty level. The FY2027 appropriations act appropriated $15 million to the Department of Agriculture for this purpose; this bill would require the department to use $375,000 of that appropriation for informational and outreach purposes.
The NJSBA supports the bill, which was passed by the Assembly on Sept. 24.
Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee
The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee met on Monday, Oct. 5 and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
Notification of Allergens on Food Menus S-3394, as amended, would require food service businesses to provide written notice of major food allergens that it knows or reasonably should know are present in the ingredients of each menu item, including temporary menu items. This information can be provided directly on a menu, in a digital format, or on other written materials. As defined in the bill, schools would qualify as food service businesses.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill.
Senate Higher Education Committee
The Senate Higher Education Committee met on Monday, Oct. 5 and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
Automatic Acceptance to Local County College S-4128 would require each county college to provide an offer of admission to each graduating county resident in grade 12 who is enrolled in a public or nonpublic school. Admission to a county college would not guarantee admission to any specific major or program of study, and county colleges would not be able to require students to submit a separate application or pay an application fee.
The NJSBA is monitoring the bill.
Assembly Community Development and Women’s Affairs Committee
The Assembly Community Development and Women’s Affairs Committee met on Monday, Oct. 5 and approved the following bill relevant to boards of education:
Study of Local Government Efficiency A-3346, as amended, would direct the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, in consultation with the Division of Local Government Services in the Department of Community Affairs, to conduct a comprehensive study to research scaling for the most efficient delivery of services by local units within the context of shared service agreements, joint contracts, and alternative service delivery methods. While not specifically listed in the bill, boards of education fall under the definition of “local units.” The bill would appropriate $90,000 to Rutgers to conduct the study and issue a report of its findings to the Governor and Legislature.
The NJSBA supports the bill.
To view the full text of any of the bills summarized above, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.
