Bill Text: NJ A3572 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires provision of instruction on water safety in public school curriculum.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-25 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A3572 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A3572-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ERIC HOUGHTALING
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires provision of instruction on water safety in public school curriculum.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the provision of instruction on water safety in the public school curriculum and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. A school district shall incorporate instruction on water safety into the health education curriculum for students in grades K through 12 as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.
2. A school district shall have policies and procedures in place pertaining to the selection of instructional materials to implement the requirements of section 1 of this act. A school district shall adopt instructional materials that provide students with information on:
a. the nature and danger of rip tides;
b. the importance of learning about water conditions and beach safety practices, particularly for student populations that do not reside near beach communities;
c. hand signs that may be used to indicate swimmer distress; and
d. the sightline limitations of lifeguards and others monitoring swimmers from the beach.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires a school district to incorporate instruction on water safety into the health education curriculum for students in grades K through 12 as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards for Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. Under this bill, a school district is required to adopt instructional materials that provide information on: the nature and danger of rip tides; the importance of learning about water conditions and beach safety practices, particularly for student populations that do not reside near beach communities; hand signs that may be used to indicate swimmer distress; and the sightline limitations of lifeguards and others monitoring swimmers from the beach.
This bill is in response to the tragic death of Naisere Nelson, who drowned after being swept into the ocean by a rip tide near Bradley Beach in Neptune, New Jersey in 2011.
