Bill Text: NJ A3934 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Revises requirements for school safety teams; requires creation of district school climate improvement plans.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-04 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A3934 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A3934-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VICTORIA A. FLYNN
District 13 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Revises requirements for school safety teams; requires creation of district school climate improvement plans.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning school climate in public schools, amending various parts of the statutory law, and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1982, c.163 (C.18A:17-46) is amended to read as follows:
1. Any school employee observing or having direct knowledge from a participant or victim of an act of violence shall, in accordance with standards established by the commissioner, file a report describing the incident to the school principal in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, and copy of same shall be forwarded to the district superintendent.
The principal shall notify the district superintendent of schools of the action taken regarding the incident. Two times each school year, between September 1 and January 1 and between January 1 and June 30, at a public hearing, the superintendent of schools shall report to the board of education all acts of violence, vandalism, and harassment, intimidation, or bullying which occurred during the previous reporting period. The report shall include the number of reports of harassment, intimidation, or bullying, the status of all investigations, the nature of the bullying based on one of the protected categories identified in section 2 of P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-14), the names of the investigators, the type and nature of any discipline imposed on any student engaged in harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and any other measures imposed, training conducted, or programs implemented, to reduce harassment, intimidation, or bullying. The information shall also be reported once during each reporting period to the Department of Education. The report must include data broken down by the enumerated categories as listed in section 2 of P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-14), and data broken down by each school in the district, in addition to district-wide data. It shall be a violation to improperly release any confidential information not authorized by federal or State law for public release.
The report shall be used to grade each school for the purpose of assessing its effort to implement policies and programs consistent with the provisions of P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-13 et seq.). The district shall receive a grade determined by averaging the grades of all the schools in the district. The commissioner shall promulgate guidelines [for a program] to grade schools for the purposes of this section , and shall annually update the guidelines to assess the efforts of each school in developing, fostering, and maintaining a positive school climate.
The grade received by a school and the district shall be posted on the homepage of the school's website. The grade for the district and each school of the district shall be posted on the homepage of the district's website. A link to the report shall be available on the district's website. The information shall be posted on the websites within 10 days of the receipt of a grade by the school and district.
If a school district's policy permits a preliminary determination to be made on whether a reported incident or complaint is a report outside the scope of the definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-14), the superintendent shall also provide annually to the board of education information on the number of times a preliminary determination was made that an incident or complaint was outside the scope of that definition for the purposes of the State's monitoring of the school district.
Verification of the reports on violence, vandalism, and harassment, intimidation, or bullying shall be part of the State's monitoring of the school district, and the State Board of Education shall adopt regulations that impose a penalty on a school employee who knowingly falsifies the report. A board of education shall provide ongoing staff training, in cooperation with the Department of Education, in fulfilling the reporting requirements pursuant to this section. The majority representative of the school employees shall have access monthly to the number and disposition of all reported acts of school violence, vandalism, and harassment, intimidation, or bullying.
(cf: P.L.2021, c.338, s.2)
2. Section 5 of P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-17) is amended to read as follows:
5. a. Schools and school districts shall annually establish, implement, document, and assess bullying prevention programs or approaches, and other initiatives involving school staff, students, administrators, volunteers, parents, law enforcement and community members. The programs or approaches shall be designed to create school-wide conditions to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, and bullying. A school district may implement bullying prevention programs and approaches that may be available at no cost from the Department of Education, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, or any other entity. A school district may, at its own discretion, implement bullying prevention programs and approaches which impose a cost on the district.
A school district may apply to the Department of Education for a grant to be used for programs, approaches, or personnel established pursuant to this act, to the extent funds are appropriated for these purposes or funds are made available through the "Bullying Prevention Fund" established pursuant to section 25 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-28). A school district may make an application for a grant only after exploring bullying prevention programs and approaches that are available at no cost, and making an affirmative demonstration of that exploration in its grant application.
b. A school district shall: (1) provide training on the school district's harassment, intimidation, or bullying policies to school employees, the school climate team as established pursuant to section 18 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-21), and volunteers who have significant contact with students; (2) ensure that the training includes instruction on preventing bullying on the basis of the protected categories enumerated in section 2 of P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-14) and other distinguishing characteristics that may incite incidents of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying; and (3) develop a process for discussing the district's harassment, intimidation or bullying policy with students.
A school district may satisfy the training required pursuant to this subsection by utilizing training that may be provided at no cost by the Department of Education, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, or any other entity. A school district may, at its own discretion, implement a training program which imposes a cost on the district.
c. Information regarding the school district policy against harassment, intimidation or bullying shall be incorporated into a school's employee training program and shall be provided to full-time and part-time staff, the school climate team, volunteers who have significant contact with students, and those persons contracted by the district to provide services to students.
(cf: P.L.2012, c.1, s.2)
3. Section 17 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-20) is amended to read as follows:
17. a. The principal in each school in a school district shall appoint a school anti-bullying specialist. When a school guidance counselor, school psychologist, or another individual similarly trained is currently employed in the school, the principal shall appoint that individual to be the school anti-bullying specialist. If no individual meeting this criteria is currently employed in the school, the principal shall appoint a school anti-bullying specialist from currently employed school personnel. The school anti-bullying specialist shall:
(1) chair the school [safety] climate team as provided in section 18 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-21);
(2) lead the investigation of incidents of harassment, intimidation, and bullying in the school; and
(3) act as the primary school official responsible for preventing, identifying, and addressing incidents of harassment, intimidation, and bullying in the school.
b. The superintendent of schools shall appoint a district anti-bullying coordinator. The superintendent shall make every effort to appoint an employee of the school district to this position. The district anti-bullying coordinator shall:
(1) be responsible for coordinating and strengthening the school district's policies to prevent, identify, and address harassment, intimidation, and bullying of students;
(2) collaborate with school anti-bullying specialists in the district, the board of education, and the superintendent of schools to prevent, identify, and respond to harassment, intimidation, and bullying of students in the district;
(3) provide data, in collaboration with the superintendent of schools, to the Department of Education regarding harassment, intimidation, and bullying of students; and
(4) execute such other duties related to school harassment, intimidation, and bullying as requested by the superintendent of schools.
c. The district anti-bullying coordinator shall meet at least twice a school year with the school anti-bullying specialists in the district to discuss and strengthen procedures and policies to prevent, identify, and address harassment, intimidation, and bullying in the district.
(cf: P.L.2010, c.122, s.17)
4. Section 18 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-21) is amended to read as follows:
18. a. A school district shall form a school [safety] climate team in each school in the district to develop, foster, and maintain a positive school climate by focusing on the on-going, systemic process and practices in the school and to address school climate issues such as harassment, intimidation, or bullying. A school [safety] climate team shall meet at least [two times per] once per month during the school year.
b. A school [safety] climate team shall consist of the principal or his designee who, if possible, shall be a senior administrator in the school and the following appointees of the principal: a teacher in the school; a school anti-bullying specialist; a parent of a student in the school; and other members to be determined by the principal. The school anti-bullying specialist shall serve as the chair of the school [safety] climate team.
c. The school[ safety] climate team shall:
(1) receive any complaints of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students that have been reported to the principal;
(2) receive copies of any report prepared after an investigation of an incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying;
(3) identify and address patterns of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students in the school;
(4) review and strengthen school climate and the policies of the school in order to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students;
(5) educate the community, including students, teachers, administrative staff, and parents, to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students;
(6) participate in the training required pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-13 et seq.), the training required pursuant to section 23 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-26), and other training which the principal or the district anti-bullying coordinator may request;
(7) collaborate with the district anti-bullying coordinator in the collection of district-wide data and in the development of district policies to prevent and address harassment, intimidation, or bullying of students; and
(8) execute [such] any other duties related to harassment, intimidation, and bullying as requested by the principal or district anti-bullying coordinator ;
(9) collaborate with recognized experts in school bullying from a cross section of academia, child advocacy organizations, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, and government agencies;
(10) annually complete a self-assessment for evaluating a school's efforts to implement the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act," P.L.2002, c.82 (C.18A:37-13 et seq.), as amended and supplemented by P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-13.1 et al.), submit the self-assessment to the board of education for approval, and submit the approved self-assessment to the Commissioner of Education;
(11) survey the conditions of the school climate using resources provided by the Department of Education; and
(12) develop, in collaboration with the school district, a district school climate improvement plan as required pursuant to section 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
d. The members of a school [safety] climate team shall be provided professional development opportunities that address effective practices of successful school climate programs or approaches.
e. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, a parent who is a member of the school [safety] climate team shall not participate in the activities of the team set forth in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection c. of this section or any other activities of the team which may compromise the confidentiality of a student.
(cf: P.L.2010, c.122, s.18)
5. Section 23 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-26) is amended to read as follows:
23. a. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with recognized experts in school bullying from a cross section of academia, child advocacy organizations, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, and government agencies, shall establish [inservice] in-service workshops and training programs to train selected public school employees to act as district anti-bullying coordinators [and] , school anti-bullying specialists , and members of the school climate team in accordance with the provisions of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-13.1 et al.). The commissioner shall seek to make the workshops and training programs available and administered online through the department's website or other existing online resources. The commissioner shall evaluate the effectiveness of the consulting group on an annual basis. The [inservice] in-service training programs may utilize the offices of the executive county superintendent of schools, or [such] any other institutions, agencies, or persons as the commissioner deems appropriate. Each board of education shall provide time for the [inservice] in-service training during the usual school schedule in order to ensure that appropriate personnel are prepared to act in the district as district anti-bullying coordinators [and] , school anti-bullying specialists ,and members of the school climate team.
b. Upon completion of the initial [inservice] in-service training program, the commissioner shall ensure that programs and workshops that reflect the most current information on harassment, intimidation, and bullying in schools , including programs and workshops that promote the development of students' social-emotional skills, are prepared and made available annually to district anti-bullying coordinators [and] school anti-bullying specialists [at regular intervals], and members of the school climate team.
(cf: P.L.2010, c.122, s.23)
6. (New section) The policy adopted by each school district pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-15) shall include a requirement to establish an anti-bullying mentorship program at each school in the district. The purpose of the program shall be to foster mentoring relationships between teachers and students, prevent incidents of harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and promote a positive school climate.
7. (New section) a. A school district shall collaborate with each school climate team established pursuant to section 18 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-21) to develop a district school climate improvement plan. The plan shall:
(1) utilize the survey data of the conditions of the school climate required pursuant to paragraph (11) of subsection c. of section 18 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-21);
(2) address the needs of each school in the district; and
(3) promote the social-emotional learning of the district's students.
b. The plan shall be submitted to the board of education for review and approval no later than May 31 of each year.
c. The school climate teams shall report on the implementation of the current district school climate improvement plan at their respective schools to the board of education no later than December 31 of each year.
d. Beginning in the first full school year following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and for each school year thereafter, a school district, as part of its comprehensive review conducted under the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum administered pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1975, c.212 (C.18A:7A-10), shall submit the district school climate improvement plan.
8. (New section) a. The quality performance indicators adopted pursuant to section 10 of P.L.1975, c.212 (C.18A:7A-10) for the operations component of school district effectiveness shall include an assessment of the district school climate improvement plan established pursuant to section 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
b. The State Board of Education shall assign point values for a school district's compliance with the assessment established pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
9. This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill revises current law on school safety teams. The bill changes the name of the "school safety team" to "school climate team" to reduce confusion regarding the team's duties. Additionally, the bill requires the school climate team to meet once per month. The bill increases the school climate team's responsibilities to require:
(1) collaboration with recognized experts in school bullying from a cross section of academia, child advocacy organizations, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, and government agencies;
(2) annual completion of a self-assessment for evaluating a school's efforts to implement the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act," to submit the self-assessment to the board of education for approval, and to submit the approved self-assessment to the Commissioner of Education;
(3) completion of a survey of the conditions of the school climate using resources provided by the Department of Education; and
(4) development, in collaboration with the school district, of a district school climate improvement plan as required under this bill.
Additionally, the bill requires the school climate team receive training on the school district's harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy. It further requires the members of the school climate team to complete the in-service workshops and training programs required for the district anti-bullying coordinators and school anti-bullying specialists.
This bill requires each school district's policy on harassment, intimidation, or bullying to include a requirement to establish an anti-bullying mentorship program at each school in the district. The program is required to foster mentoring relationships between teachers and students, prevent incidents of harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and promote a positive school climate.
Finally, the bill requires a school district, in collaboration with the school climate team for each school in the district, to develop a district school climate improvement plan. The plan is to be submitted to the board of education for review and approval by May 31 of each year. The school climate teams are to report on the implementation of the current district school climate improvement plan at their respective schools to the board of education no later than December 31 of each year. Additionally, a school district, as part of its comprehensive review conducted under the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) is to submit the district school climate improvement plan. The bill provides that the State Board of Education is to assign point values for a school district's compliance under NJQSAC.
This bill's provisions implement certain recommendations of the report from the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Task Force, dated December 28, 2023.
