Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SERENA DIMASO
District 13 (Monmouth)
Assemblywoman NANCY F. MUNOZ
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
Assemblywoman HOLLY T. SCHEPISI
District 39 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblymen Space, DePhillips, Thomson and Harold J. Wirths
SYNOPSIS
Requires school district to submit emergency communication policies and protocols to Department of Education for review.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning school security and supplementing chapter 41 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. Within 30 days of the effective date of this act, each school district shall submit its current emergency communication policies and protocols to the Department of Education.
The school district shall review, update, and resubmit its emergency communication policies and protocols to the department every five years. If an emergency incident occurs at a school district during the five-year period, the policies and protocols shall be reviewed immediately.
b. The department, in consultation with the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management, and local law enforcement authorities, shall review the emergency communication policies and protocols submitted by a school district pursuant to subsection a. of this section to ensure compliance with all relevant State laws and regulations and shall, when necessary, make recommendations to the school district for improving the policies and protocols.
c. The department may conduct unannounced site visits at any school district to review its emergency communication policies, protocols, equipment, and technology. The department may request any additional information that it deems necessary.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each school district to submit its current emergency communication policies and protocols to the Department of Education. The bill further directs the department, in consultation with the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management, and local law enforcement authorities, to review the emergency communication policies and protocols submitted by a school district to ensure compliance with all relevant State laws and regulations and, when necessary, make recommendations to the school district for improving the policies and protocols.
Under the bill, the school district must review, update, and resubmit its emergency communication policies and protocols to the department every five years. If an emergency incident occurs at a school district during the five-year period, the policies and protocols must be reviewed immediately.
The bill provides the department the authority to conduct unannounced site visits at any school district to review its emergency communication policies, protocols, equipment, and technology. The department may request any additional information that it deems necessary.