STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman EDWARD H. THOMSON
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires all public school teachers and paraprofessionals working with autistic students to possess Registered Behavior Technician credential by 2020-2021 school year.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning public school teachers and paraprofessionals providing services to autistic students and supplementing chapter 26 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. Beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, the State Board of Education shall require each teacher and paraprofessional who teaches students with autism to possess a Registered Behavior Technician credential verified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.
b. The Commissioner of Education shall make available through the department's website, free, self-directed, online training which fulfills the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's eligibility training requirements toward attaining a Registered Behavior Technician credential.
c. The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as it may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the State Board of Education to mandate that beginning in the 2020-2021 school year, each teacher and paraprofessional who teaches students with autism must possess a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) credential verified by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). In order to assist individuals in obtaining this credential, the bill requires the Commissioner of Education to make available on the department's website, free, self-directed, online training which fulfills the BACB's eligibility training requirements toward attaining an RBT credential.
Applied behavior analysis (ABA) services have been utilized extensively in the field of autism. Individuals providing these services design, implement, and evaluate instructional and environmental modifications to produce socially significant improvements in behavior. The BACB is an organization whose mission is to protect consumers of ABA services by systematically establishing, promoting, and disseminating professional standards for individuals providing these services. In 2014, the BACB initiated a program for credentialing behavior technicians. The new credential, the RBT credential, represents the entry-level position within the range of the BACB credentials, which include the Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst and the Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Under this bill, teachers and paraprofessionals will receive basic instruction on the implementation of behavior-analytic services for students with autism.