Sponsored by:
Senator THOMAS H. KEAN, JR.
District 21 (Essex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
Senator STEVEN V. OROHO
District 24 (Sussex, Hunterdon and Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Permits parent of twins or higher order multiples enrolled in public school to select shared or separate classroom placement of their children.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the classroom placement of certain students and supplementing chapter 36 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. A parent or guardian of twins or higher order multiples enrolled in the same grade level at the same public school may request that the children be placed in the same classroom or in separate classrooms. The school principal may recommend a classroom placement to the parent or guardian and may provide the parent or guardian with professional education advice that will assist the parent or guardian in making the best decision for the children’s education. The parent or guardian shall request the classroom placement no later than 14 days after the first day of each school year or 14 days after the first day of attendance if the students enroll in the school after the school year commences. The school principal shall provide the classroom placement requested by the parent or guardian and the students shall remain in this initial placement for the duration of the school year unless the board of education makes a different classroom placement determination pursuant to the provisions of subsection b. of this section.
b. A school principal may, after consultation with the students’ parent or guardian and teachers at the end of the initial grading period, request that the board of education make a different classroom placement determination for the twins or higher order multiples if the initial classroom placement is determined to be disruptive to any of the students in the class or classes in which the students are enrolled or if the principal concludes that the initial placement does not sufficiently support the students’ academic or social development. Upon receiving the request, the board of education shall make a final classroom placement determination.
c. As used in this section, “higher order multiples” means triplets, quadruplets, quintuplets, or larger group of siblings born at one birth.
d. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a school district which maintains only a single classroom for the grade level in which the twins or higher order multiples are enrolled.
e. The parent or guardian shall be responsible for any additional pupil transportation costs that are incurred by the school district as a result of providing the requested classroom placement, unless the school district is in agreement with the placement.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the 2008-2009 school year.
STATEMENT
This bill allows the parent or guardian of twins or higher order multiples (such as triplets or quadruplets) enrolled in the same grade at the same public school to request that the children be placed in either the same classroom or in separate classrooms. To assist the parent or guardian in making this decision, the school principal may offer a placement recommendation and may offer professional advice to the parent or guardian. The parent’s or guardian’s placement request, provided that is was submitted within the first 14 days of the students’ enrollment, must be granted by the school. However, the school principal may request, after the initial grading period is completed and after consulting with the students’ parent or guardian and teachers, that the board of education make a different classroom placement determination for the twins or higher order multiples if the initial classroom placement is found to be disruptive to any of the students in the class or classes in which the twins or higher order multiples are enrolled or if the principal determines that the initial placement does not sufficiently support the students’ academic or social development. Upon receiving such a request, the board of education will make the final classroom placement determination. In the event that the parent’s or guardian’s placement request causes the district to incur additional transportation costs, then the parent or guardian will be responsible for the additional cost unless the school district agrees with the placement decision. This bill will not apply to a school district which maintains only a single classroom for the grade level in which the twins or higher order multiples are enrolled.