The following provides a summary of noteworthy education-related activity at the State House over the past week.

Committee Activity

Several committees met over the last week and advanced the following bills affecting New Jersey school districts:

Assembly Education Committee (Thursday 9/19/24):

School Bus Monitoring Systems A-1432 would authorize the use of a school bus monitoring system to enforce existing state law governing passing a school bus. A school bus monitoring system is defined as a system meeting certain requirements set forth in the bill and having at least one camera and computer that captures and records a digital video or image of any motor vehicle operating near a school bus. Under the bill, civil penalties imposed and collected for this violation would be forwarded to the financial officer of the municipality in which the violation occurred and used for general municipal and school district purposes. The bill would also authorize a municipality or school district operating or providing Type I or Type II school buses that transport students to contract with a private vendor to provide for the installation, operation and maintenance of a school bus monitoring system for enforcement purposes; or, for a municipality or school district that contracts with a school bus contractor, to require the installation, operation and maintenance of such a system.

The New Jersey School Boards Association supports the bill.

Mental Health Referrals A-1657 would permit a student assistance coordinator, school counselor, or school psychologist or other mental health professional working in a school district to refer, or help facilitate the referral of, a student to an individual or practice licensed to provide professional counseling (including a psychiatrist, certified social worker, licensed clinical social worker, licensed social worker, licensed marriage and family therapist, certified psychoanalyst, or licensed psychologist) for mental health assessments and services. A student assistance coordinator, school counselor, or school psychologist or other mental health professional working in a school district would not be able to refer a student to an individual or practice with whom the district employee, or the employee’s immediate family, or the employee in combination with his or her family has a significant beneficial interest.

In the case of a student who is not legally permitted to consent to the assessments and services, the student’s parent or guardian would be notified of the referral or the facilitation of the referral, and the parent or guardian would be required to consent prior to the provision of any assessment or service by the individual or practice.

The bill provides that neither the school district nor the individual making or facilitating the referral would be required to bear the cost of assessments and services provided to the student by a licensed individual or practice. The bill would not limit a school district’s authority to provide mental health assessments and services to students.

The NJSBA supports the bill.

Supplemental Tutoring Registry A-1997 would direct the New Jersey Department of Education to establish and maintain a central, searchable registry of individuals and organizations interested in offering free tutoring services to students throughout the state. The registry would contain the name, contact information, subject matter expertise and a tutoring availability schedule of each registrant. The NJDOE would be required by the bill to make the registry publicly available to all New Jersey residents on its website. The bill lists groups of individuals and organizations who would be eligible to apply for inclusion on the registry and would require those applying to undergo a criminal history record check prior to inclusion, which may be reimbursable by the NJDOE. Finally, the bill would require the NJDOE to inform users of the registry that the information provided on individuals and organizations listed on the registry has not been independently verified and is not meant to be an endorsement or recommendation by the department as to the quality of the tutoring services offered.

The NJSBA supports the bill.

Leasing School Property to FQHCs A-4381 would permit boards of education to lease school property to federally qualified health centers without bidding. The bill adds federally qualified health centers to the list of entities to which a local board of education may lease school buildings and property, no longer necessary for school purposes, for a nominal fee and without following the competitive bidding process. Other entities already on the list include federal, state and local governmental units, volunteer fire companies and rescue squads and veterans and senior citizens organizations. In the case of joint occupancy with a public school and federally qualified health center, the bill would require the federally qualified health center to be located in a separate and distinct portion of the school building from where students are present.

The NJSBA supports the bill. The Senate previously passed the bill’s counterpart, S-3156, in May.

Assembly Labor Committee (Thursday 9/19/24):

Disclosure of Leave Eligibility A-4621 would require an employer to disclose, in writing, a job applicant’s eligibility, or lack thereof, to access and utilize family and disability leave and benefits provided for by state and federal law if the applicant is hired. As part of the disclosure, the bill would require the employer to notify the applicant if the applicant will not be eligible for any of the leave or benefits and provide the reason for the ineligibility. Additionally, the bill would require an employer to provide information to access an informational webpage maintained by the Department of Labor and Workforce concerning leave and benefits. An employer that does not provide the required disclosures and notifications under the bill would be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $500 for each violation.

The NJSBA is monitoring the bill.

Job Posting Requirements A-4625 would require an employer with more than 10 employees to remove a job posting when a position has been filled and include, within any posting for a publicly advertised job, information concerning whether the posting is for an existing position. An employer would also be required to provide a timeframe in the job posting as to when the position is anticipated to be filled. If the employer interviews an applicant for the position, the employer would be required, within the timeframe provided in the job advertisement, to provide the applicant with an affirmative response as to whether the position has been filled, or if the position has not been filled, whether the employer is still considering the applicant for the position.

The bill would also require third-party job posting companies to remove positions that have been filled, and it provides the Department of Labor and Workforce Development with the authority to audit employers and third-party job posting companies for ongoing violations. Any person who violates the provisions of the bill will be subject to a warning, followed by monthly civil penalties of between $1,000 and $5,000 for as long as a posting remains in violation.

The NJSBA opposes A-4625 because it would place an excessive burden on public schools and is an unfunded state mandate that goes beyond the state’s constitutional role of ensuring a thorough and efficient system of public education. The NJSBA testified that the bill would impose excessive fines on violators and that employers have little to no control over third-party postings. Further, the NJSBA shared its concerns that hiring processes (especially those conducted by schools) can be fluid and unpredictable, and this bill’s proposed requirement that employers provide applicants and interviewees with an estimated timeframe of when an advertised position will be filled is impractical and would be unnecessarily restrictive. Finally, the NJSBA expressed concerns regarding various unclear definitions in the current bill’s language. Click here to read the NJSBA’s full position statement.

Assembly Appropriations Committee (Monday 9/23/24):

Online School Meal Applications A-3260 would require the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, in consultation with the NJDOE, to develop an online school meal application. A district or nonpublic school that currently offers an online school meal application would be required, within one year of the bill being signed, to switch to the NJDA’s application. Schools that do not currently offer an online school meal application would be required to “make every effort” to implement the NJDA’s application. A participating school that implements the NJDA’s application would be required to continue to provide parents with hard copies of subsidized school meal applications.

The NJSBA is monitoring the bill, which was approved by the Assembly Education Committee in May and now heads to the Assembly floor.

To view the full text of any of the bills summarized above, please visit the New Jersey Legislature’s website.