Bill Text: NJ S2108 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires exterior exit doors in school buildings to remain unlocked from egress side and locked from access side at all times.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S2108 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S2108-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator HOLLY T. SCHEPISI
District 39 (Bergen)
SYNOPSIS
Requires exterior exit doors in school buildings to remain unlocked from egress side and locked from access side at all times.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning school building security and amending N.J.S.18A:41-1.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. N.J.S.18A:41-1 is amended to read as follows:
18A:41-1. Every principal of a school of two or more rooms, or of a school of one room, when located above the first story of a building, shall have at least one fire drill and one school security drill each month within the school hours, including any summer months during which the school is open for instructional programs, and shall require all teachers of all schools, whether occupying buildings of one or more stories, to keep all doors and exits of their respective rooms [and buildings] unlocked during the school hours, except during an emergency lockdown or an emergency lockdown drill. Exterior building doors of the school shall remain locked from the access side, and unlocked from the egress side, at all times. In the event that a fire alarm or any other security alarm is triggered, the access side of exterior building doors shall be unlocked manually by a school employee or through an access-controlled automatic unlocking system. Where school buildings have been provided with fire escapes, they shall be used by a part or all of the pupils performing every fire drill. An actual fire or school security emergency that occurs at a school during the month and that includes activities which are the equivalent of a drill shall be considered a drill for the purposes of meeting the requirements of this section.
A law enforcement officer shall be present at a minimum of one school security drill in each school year in order to make recommendations on any improvements or changes to school security drill procedures that the officer may deem advisable.
(cf: P.L.2016, c.80, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires exterior doors in school buildings to remain locked from the access side at all times. The bill provides that exterior doors will remain unlocked from the egress side to allow for safe exit at all times. In the event that a fire alarm or any other security alarm is triggered, the bill provides that a school employee will ensure that the access side of all exterior doors is unlocked, or an access-controlled locking system may be used to unlock the doors automatically.
