Bill Text: NJ S274 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Requires training program for school bus drivers and school bus aides on interacting with students with special needs, and requires development and use of student information cards.*
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-08-13 - Substituted by A1029 (2R) [S274 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-S274-Amended.html
SENATE, No. 274
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires training program for school bus drivers and school bus aides on interacting with students with special needs, and requires development and use of student information cards.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Education Committee on June 11, 2015, with amendments.
An Act concerning training of school bus drivers and aides and supplementing chapter 39 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 shall develop a training program for school bus drivers and school bus aides on proper procedures for interacting with students with special needs. The training program shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
a. appropriate behavior management;
b. effective communication;
c. use and operation of adaptive equipment; and
d. understanding behaviors that may be related to specific disabilities.
The commissioner shall make the training program available to boards of education and school bus contractors providing pupil transportation services under contract with boards of education no later than one year following the effective date of this act.
2. a. An employer shall administer the training program developed pursuant to section 1 of this act to all school bus drivers and school bus aides that it employs. In the case of an individual who is employed prior to the development and availability of the training program, the employer shall administer the training program to the individual no later than 180 days after the training program is made available by the commissioner. In the case of an individual who is employed after the development and availability of the training program, the employer shall administer the training program to the individual prior to that individual operating a school bus or serving as an aide on a school bus.
b. 1An employer shall require that a school bus driver or school bus aide file a certification with the employer that the individual has completed the training program within five business days of its completion. The employer shall retain a copy of the certification for the duration of the individual's employment, and shall forward a copy of the certification to the Department of Education.
c.1 As used in this section, "employer" means a board of education or a contractor that provides pupil transportation services under contract with a board of education.
13. a. The
Commissioner of Education shall develop a student
information card that includes information that should be readily available to
a school bus driver and school bus aide for the purpose of promoting proper
interaction with a student with special needs. The parent or guardian of a
student with an individualized education plan shall complete the student
information card when the individualized education plan is developed or amended
for a student who receives transportation services.
b. Upon receiving consent from a student's parent or guardian, the school district shall provide a copy of the completed student information card to a school bus driver and school bus aide for each student on the bus route to which the school bus driver or school bus aide is assigned for whom a student information card has been completed by the parent or guardian.1
1[3.] 4.1 This act shall take effect immediately.
