Bill Text: NJ A388 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes position of Ombudsman of Student Discipline to serve within Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-11 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A388 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A388-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes position of Ombudsman of Student Discipline to serve within Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the discipline of students enrolled in institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 3B 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. The Secretary of Higher Education shall appoint an Ombudsman of Student Discipline to serve within the Office of the Secretary. The ombudsman shall ensure that a student who is subject to the disciplinary process established by the institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled receives fair and impartial treatment throughout the course of that process.
The ombudsman shall:
(1) accept and review requests from students enrolled in institutions of higher education in the State who are seeking information and assistance during the disciplinary process, including any disciplinary hearing, or a request for a review of a recently completed disciplinary hearing. The ombudsman shall give priority to requests on matters which may be time-sensitive, or which may result in a financial or academic loss to the student including, but not limited to, the student's suspension or dismissal from an academic program or institution or the student's disqualification from a prospective academic program or institution;
(2) conduct further investigation, as warranted, into select student requests to examine the nature of the student's alleged violation that is the subject of the disciplinary process, the manner in which the disciplinary process is conducted, and, if the process has been completed, the determination of the disciplinary board and the sanctions imposed on the student; and
(3) submit a report of findings to the student, the institution's disciplinary board, and the governing board of the institution of higher education.
b. The institution shall notify the ombudsman as to whether or not it will modify the disciplinary process or the penalties imposed on the student in the event that the report of the ombudsman finds that:
(1) the institution's student code of conduct lacked adequate clarity and guidance for students, or that the institution did not provide adequate tools for students to protect themselves against potential violations of the student code of conduct;
(2) the institution did not provide adequate due process protections for the student; or
(3) the penalties imposed on the student were unduly harsh.
c. The ombudsman shall
publish a list of those institutions that agree to accept and respond to the
findings of the ombudsman and those that do not agree.
2. This act shall take effect on the 90th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Secretary of Higher Education to appoint an Ombudsman of Student Discipline to serve within the Office of the Secretary. The purpose of the ombudsman is to ensure that a student who is subject to the disciplinary process established by the institution of higher education in which the student is enrolled receives fair and impartial treatment throughout the course of that process.
Under the bill, the ombudsman will accept and review requests from students enrolled in institutions of higher education in the State who are seeking information and assistance during the disciplinary process, including any disciplinary hearing, or a request for a review of a recently completed disciplinary hearing. The ombudsman will give priority to requests on matters which may be time-sensitive, or which may result in a financial or academic loss to the student including, but not limited to, the student's suspension or dismissal from an academic program or institution or the student's disqualification from a prospective academic program or institution. The ombudsman will conduct further investigation, as warranted, into select student requests to examine the nature of the student's alleged violation that is the subject of the disciplinary process, the manner in which the disciplinary process is conducted, and, if the process has been completed, the determination of the disciplinary board and the sanctions imposed on the student. The ombudsman will then submit a report of findings to the student, the institution's disciplinary board, and the governing board of the institution of higher education.
The institution must notify the ombudsman as to whether or not it will modify the disciplinary process or the penalties imposed on the student in the event that the report of the ombudsman finds that:
(1) the institution's student code of conduct lacked adequate clarity and guidance for students, or that the institution did not provide adequate tools for students to protect themselves against potential violations of the student code of conduct;
(2) the institution did not provide adequate due process protections for the student; or
(3) the penalties imposed on the student were unduly harsh.
Finally, the ombudsman is required to publish a list of those institutions that agree to accept and respond to the findings of the ombudsman and those that do not agree.
