Bill Text: NJ A4233 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires adoption of school tick remediation policy in public and private schools.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-02 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A4233 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A4233-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ERIK PETERSON
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DiMaio
SYNOPSIS
Requires adoption of school tick remediation policy in public and private schools.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the incorporation of, and subsequent implementation of, a school tick remediation policy in the existing integrated pest management policy of public and private schools, and supplementing P.L.2002, c.117 (C.13:1F-19 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. No later than 12 months after the effective date of this act, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Health, shall develop a school tick remediation policy to be added to its model school integrated pest management policy, established pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2002, c.117 (C.13:1F-22), to reduce the presence of ticks on school property located within counties that, according to Lyme disease data collected by the Department of Health, have a high incidence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.
b. In developing the school tick remediation policy, pursuant to this section, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall identify environmental variables, such as, but not limited to, the deer population, type of vegetation, type of climate, and presence of leaf litter, pine needles, and other debris, commonly found within counties identified by the Department of Health to have a high incidence of Lyme disease.
c. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall include in the school tick remediation policy, simple, cost-effective, and pesticide-free recommendations and solutions to reduce the presence of ticks on school property that take into consideration the most common environmental variables within each county that is identified by the New Jersey Department of Health Vector-borne Surveillance Reports to have a high incidence of Lyme disease pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
2. a. No later than 18 months after the effective date of this act, the superintendent of every school district, the board of trustees of a charter school, and the principal or chief administrator of a private school, shall:
(1) adopt and implement a school tick remediation policy for the school property consistent with the policy developed pursuant to section 1 of this act;
(2) adopt and implement recommendations and solutions to reduce the presence of ticks on school property consistent with the simple, cost-effective, and pesticide-free recommendations and solutions identified for the county where the school property is located pursuant to section 1 of this act;
(3) contract with, and provide oversight of, entities qualified to diagnose and treat tick infestations;
(4) require contracted entities to evaluate the presence of ticks on school property, identify areas of high tick activity on school property, and provide a list of areas identified to have high tick activity on school property;
(5) provide oversight of the application of a low-impact pesticide only if the simple, cost-effective, and pesticide-free recommendations and solutions developed pursuant to section 1 of this act are not sufficient to reduce the presence of ticks on school property; and
(6) provide any other measures deemed necessary by the Department of Environmental Protection to implement the provisions of this act.
b. If a local school board, board of trustees of a charter school or principal or chief administrator of a private school, as appropriate, determines that a pesticide, other than a low-impact pesticide, must be used on school property, a pesticide may be used only in accordance with section 7 of P.L.2002, c.117 (C.13:1F-25).
3. a. Each local school board of a school district, each board of trustees of a charter school, and each principal or chief administrator of a private school, as appropriate, shall designate the school's integrated pest management coordinator, designated to carry out the school's integrated pest management policy pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2002, c.117 (C.13-1F-23), to carry out the school tick remediation policy required pursuant to section 2 of this act.
b. The integrated pest management coordinator shall:
(1) maintain information about: (a) the school or school district's school tick remediation policy; (b) the recommendations and solutions implemented on school property that are consistent with the simple, cost-effective, and pesticide-free recommendations and solutions identified for the county where the school property is located pursuant to section 1 of this act; and (c) the pesticide applications on the school property of the school or the schools within the school district;
(2) act as the main point of contact for inquiries about the school tick remediation policy;
(3) maintain material safety data sheets, when available, and labels for all pesticides that are used for the purpose of reducing the presence of ticks on the school property of the school or the schools in the school district;
(4) communicate with staff, nurses, teachers, and coaches of the school or the schools within the school district concerning the school tick remediation policy, and educate them about: (a) areas of high tick activity on school property; (b) the simple, cost-effective, and pesticide-free recommendations and solutions to reduce the presence of ticks on school property developed pursuant to section 1 of this act; (c) disease prevention; (d) the biology of various tick species; (e) tick habitats; (f) a list of diseases transmitted by ticks; (g) recommended attire and repellants to help protect an individual from ticks; (h) how to perform tick checks; (i) proper techniques for the removal of ticks; and (j) symptoms an individual may experience after receiving a tick bite;
(5) communicate with parents of students of the school or the schools within the school district through seasonal reminders about tick activity, and provide educational material to parents consistent with the information communicated to staff, nurses, teachers, and coaches pursuant to this subsection. The educational material shall remind parents that ticks are also likely to be present around their homes and neighborhoods, and that similar solutions to reduce the presence of ticks implemented for the school or the schools in the school district may also apply to their homes and neighborhoods; and
(6) provide any other measures deemed necessary by the Department of Environmental Protection to implement the provisions of this act.
4. The Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Education and Department of Health, shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
5. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Commissioner of Environmental Protection ("commissioner"), in consultation with the Commissioner of Education and the Commissioner of Health, to develop a school tick remediation policy, and incorporate the policy into the already existing integrated pest management policy of the public or private school, to reduce the presence of ticks on the school property of the school or the schools located within counties that, according to Lyme disease data collected by the Department of Health, have a high incidence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.
The bill requires the commissioner, in developing the school tick remediation policy, to identify environmental variables commonly found within counties identified by the Department of Health to have a high incidence of Lyme disease. The bill further requires the commissioner, in developing the school tick remediation policy, to include simple, cost-effective, and pesticide-free recommendations and solutions that take into consideration the most common environmental variables identified within each county identified by the New Jersey Department of Health Vector-borne Surveillance Reports to have a high incidence of Lyme disease.
The bill requires the superintendent of a school district, the board of trustees of a charter school, and the principal or chief administrator of a private school to: (1) adopt and implement a school tick remediation policy for the school property consistent with the policy developed by the commissioner; (2) adopt and implement recommendations and solutions to reduce the presence of ticks on school property consistent with the simple, cost-effective, and pesticide-free recommendations and solutions identified for the county where the school property is located by the commissioner; (3) contract with, and provide oversight of, entities qualified to diagnose and treat tick infestations; (4) require contracted entities to evaluate the presence of ticks on school property, identify areas of high tick activity on school property, and provide a list of areas identified to have high tick activity on school property; and (5) provide oversight of the application of a low-impact pesticide only if the simple, cost-effective, and pesticide-free recommendations and solutions developed by the commissioner are not sufficient to reduce the presence of ticks on school property.
Furthermore, the bill designates the integrated pest management coordinator to carry out the school tick remediation policy. The bill requires the integrated pest management coordinator to: (1) maintain certain information; (2) act as the main point of contact for inquiries about the school tick remediation policy; (3) maintain material safety data sheets and labels for all pesticides that are used for the purpose of reducing the presence of ticks on the school property; (4) communicate with staff, nurses, teachers, and coaches of the schools concerning the school tick remediation policy, and educate them about tick activity and disease prevention; and (5) communicate with parents of students of the schools through seasonal reminders about tick activity, and provide educational material to parents concerning tick activity and disease prevention.
