This week in Trenton, the State Legislature moved education-related bills that seek to address student access to sunscreen at school, the anonymous reporting of potential threats to school safety, allocation of state aide for remedial services for nonpublic school students, and establishing an Ombudsman to deal with the transfer of credits in higher education.
On Monday, October 21st, the Assembly Education Committee advanced A-1028 unanimously (9-0). This bill would require school districts to adopt a policy concerning a student’s use of sunscreen and sun-protective clothing, such as hats and sunglasses, while outdoors at school and school-sponsored functions. The policy is not to require a student to provide documentation from a physician or other licensed health care professional in order to use sunscreen or sun-protective clothing while outdoors at school or a school-sponsored function. The policy may require written permission from a student’s parent or guardian to allow that student to carry or use sunscreen at school or a school-sponsored function. Nothing in the policy is to be construed as requiring school personnel to assist a student in applying sunscreen. The amended bill will take effect in the first full school year following the bill’s enactment. NJPSA, working with other education stakeholders, was able to secure important amendments to this bill to provide that the policy may require written permission from a student’s parent or guardian to allow that student to carry or use sunscreen at school or a school-sponsored function and to clarify that nothing in the policy is to be construed as requiring school personnel to assist a student in applying sunscreen.
Also on Monday, the Assembly Education Committee unanimously advanced A-1792. This bill would require the Attorney General, in consultation with the New Jersey Education and Law Enforcement Working Group, to establish a program that provides a means for the public to anonymously report information concerning unsafe, potentially harmful, dangerous, violent, or criminal activities in schools or the threat of those activities. The program will allow students, parents, school staff, and other community members to anonymously report information through readily accessible methods such as a telephone tip line, that is staffed by trained individuals at reasonable hours each day of the week, and a mobile application. The program is to ensure that the identity of the reporting party remains unknown, except in instances where the reporting party voluntarily discloses his or her identity and verifies that his or her identity may be shared with law enforcement officers, school officials, and employees operating the program. The bill requires that information received through the program be promptly shared with the appropriate law enforcement agencies or school officials. Under the amended bill, training will be provided to law enforcement dispatch centers, all public and nonpublic schools, and other entities determined by the Attorney General on awareness of the program and appropriate response to tips received through the program. Proper guidelines will be provided to students regarding the procedures for reporting potential threats to school safety. In addition, program awareness and education materials will be provided to all public and nonpublic schools in the State. This bill also requires the Attorney General to annually prepare a report on the program that includes the following: (1) the total number of reports made to the program, disaggregated by subgroups to be determined by the Attorney General; (2) the dates, times, and means of reporting; (3) the total number of instances of misuse of the program; and (4) a summary of the outcomes and actions taken on reports made to the program. The Attorney General is required to submit the report to the Governor and the Education Committees of the Senate and General Assembly and post the report on the Internet website of the Department of Law and Public Safety by January 1 of the year immediately following issuance of the report. NJPSA supported this bill, but asked Sponsors to work with the NJDOE to ensure systems are aligned.
Another bill unanimously advanced by the Assembly Education Committee Members on Monday was A-4854, a bill that would amend the laws governing the allocation of State aid for auxiliary services and remedial services to nonpublic school students. The bill specifically requires the Commissioner of Education to establish a process by which school districts are to be reimbursed for costs that are incurred to provide auxiliary and remedial services for eligible nonpublic school students. Under the bill, school districts are to be reimbursed for costs within the limits of applicable maximum per service aid amounts, as established by the commissioner. The maximum per service aid amounts established by the commissioner would be based on projected estimates, for the upcoming school year, of the number of: services to be provided; students eligible for each service; and the costs to provide the services. The estimates used by the commissioner to establish the maximum per service aid amounts are to be based on trends from recent school years in the number of services provided, eligible students, and service costs. The method by which the commissioner establishes the maximum per service aid amounts is required to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, the amounts annually appropriated for auxiliary services and remedial services are fully exhausted by the end of the school year for which the maximum amounts are established.
The reimbursement process to be implemented by the commissioner pursuant to the bill would permit school districts to apply monthly for reimbursement payments. The details of the reimbursement process are to be annually announced on July 15 prior to the beginning of the school year, and districts can begin submitting for reimbursement on September 1. Reimbursements are to be made to school districts throughout the school year until the full amount annually appropriated as State aid for nonpublic school auxiliary and remedial services has been fully expended.
School districts seeking reimbursement under the bill are to submit applications on a monthly basis and adhere to all established submission guidelines, accounting and budgeting guidance, documentation requirements, and defined timelines for reimbursement.
In order to ensure the full reimbursement of eligible costs, the bill also removes provisions of law setting forth the calculation of both categories of aid. Under current law, State aid allotments for an upcoming school year are calculated by multiplying the applicable per pupil service cost by the number of students who were previously identified as eligible to receive each service.
The bill also removes sections of current law that: 1) require school districts to refund unexpended State aid for nonpublic auxiliary and remedial services; and 2) require the commissioner to prorate State nonpublic auxiliary and remedial services aid amounts downward, in the event that the amount of State aid appropriated for those purposes is insufficient. NJPSA was Neutral on this bill at its first hearing.
A-4220 was advanced by the Assembly Appropriations Committee on October 24th by a vote of (8-0) with three committee members abstaining. This bill would revise the Statewide transfer agreements for the transfer of academic credit and reverse credit at public institutions of higher education and establish the position of New Jersey Transfer Ombudsperson within the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
Under current law, each public institution of higher education is required to establish and enter into a collective Statewide transfer agreement that provides for the seamless transfer of academic credits across public institutions of higher education. Similarly, current law requires institutions of higher education, both public and independent, to establish and enter into a collective Statewide reverse transfer agreement for the awarding of associate degrees by the county colleges. Under current law, the Statewide transfer agreement is established by public institutions of higher education in consultation with the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education and the New Jersey Presidents’ Council and the Statewide reverse transfer agreement is established by public institutions of higher education in consultation with the Secretary of Higher Education and the New Jersey Presidents’ Council.
The bill establishes the position of the New Jersey Transfer Ombudsperson within the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. The purpose of the ombudsperson is to facilitate the resolution of disputes between students and public institutions of higher education regarding the institution’s compliance with the Statewide credit transfer agreement. Under the amended substitute, the ombudsperson is to be responsible for:
(1) overseeing and assessing the compliance of public institutions of higher education with the provisions of the bill and current law;
(2) final administrative decisions over disputes between students and public institutions of higher education regarding the transfer of academic credits only after every reasonable effort has been exhausted by the student and the institution to resolve the dispute. In making a final administrative decision, the ombudsperson is to give appropriate consideration to any potential negative affect of a decision on the programmatic accreditation of the institution; provided, however, that the institution is afforded the opportunity to specifically demonstrate in each case the potential negative effect of a decision not in favor of the institution on the programmatic accreditation held by the institution;
(3) the periodic review, occurring not less than once every five years, of the Statewide credit transfer agreement to ensure compliance with the applicable provisions of law. The review is to take into account, as appropriate, final administrative decisions made by the ombudsperson; and
(4) preparation of the annual credit transfer report.
The amended committee substitute also requires each public institution of higher education to provide transfer students with data on program outcomes of students who have transferred from other public institutions of higher education in the State, including completion rates. NJPSA Supported this Bill
If you would like to discuss, or have questions about any of the legislative initiatives that moved this week, please contact your NJPSA Government Relations team. Department Director Debbie Bradley dbradley@njpsa.org or Assistant Director Jennie Lamon jlamon@njpsa.org.
If you are interested in legislation and education policy, please consider joining the NJPSA Legislative Committee. We meet approximately four times a year to discuss and develop positions on pending legislation and regulations. We always have lively and often entertaining discussions! Email jlamon@njpsa.org for more information or to join our committee!
Thank you for your advocacy, and for all that you do.