Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes "School Shelter Grant Program" in Department of Education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the use of public schools as emergency shelters and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Director of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management in the Department of Law and Public Safety, shall establish a "School Shelter Grant Program" in the Department of Education. The program shall provide grants to public school districts to finance the cost of the preparations, improvements, equipment, and supplies necessary to enable a public school to serve as a community shelter in the event of a natural disaster or any other emergency situation.
2. a. A school district may apply for a grant under the program by submitting an application to the commissioner in such form as the commissioner shall require. The application for each school which the district seeks to ready as an emergency shelter shall at a minimum include:
(1) a description of the preparations, improvements, equipment, and supplies necessary;
(2) an estimate of the cost of the preparations, improvements, equipment, and supplies;
(3) the amount of grant funding requested;
(4) other sources of funding the district will use to make the school shelter-ready;
(5) an estimate of the capacity of the school as an emergency shelter and a description of how the shelter will be managed; and
(6) other information that the commissioner may require.
b. The commissioner shall distribute grant funds based on the projected need for the school to serve as a shelter and such factors as he deems appropriate.
3. a. The commissioner, in consultation with the director, shall investigate the availability of existing State and federal funding for school upgrades and preparations that will enable public schools to serve as community shelters in the event of a natural disaster or any other emergency situation, and shall request from the Legislature any additional funding that may be necessary to implement the program.
b. The commissioner, in consultation with the director, shall assist districts in applying for any State, federal, or private funding that may be available to the districts directly for school upgrades and preparations that will enable public schools to serve as community shelters.
c. The commissioner may exclude from participation in the program any district that fails to comply with a request by the commissioner to apply for State or federal funding that may be available for school upgrades and preparations that will enable public schools to serve as community shelters, or to supply information needed by the commissioner for an application the commissioner is making for such funding.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Director of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management in the Department of Law and Public Safety, to establish a "School Shelter Grant Program" in the Department of Education. The program will provide grants to public school districts to finance the cost of the preparations, improvements, equipment, and supplies necessary to enable a public school to serve as a community shelter in the event of a natural disaster or any other emergency situation.
Under the bill, a school district may apply for a grant by submitting an application to the commissioner in such form as the commissioner requires. The application for each school which the district seeks to ready as an emergency shelter must at a minimum include:
(1) a description of the preparations, improvements, equipment, and supplies necessary;
(2) an estimate of the cost of the preparations, improvements, equipment, and supplies;
(3) the amount of grant funding requested;
(4) other sources of funding the district will use to make the school shelter-ready;
(5) an estimate of the capacity of the school as an emergency shelter and a description of how the shelter will be managed; and
(6) other information that the commissioner may require.
The bill directs the commissioner to distribute grant funds based on projected need for the school to serve as a shelter and such factors as he deems appropriate.
Under the bill, the commissioner, in consultation with the director, would investigate the availability of existing State and federal funding for school upgrades and preparations that will enable public schools to serve as community shelters in the event of a natural disaster or any other emergency situation, and request from the Legislature any additional funding that may be necessary to implement the program.