ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 1569

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 6, 2018

      The Assembly Education Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1569 (1R) with committee amendments.

      As amended, this bill requires each board of education to provide instruction on the political, economic, and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in an appropriate place in the curriculum of middle school and high school students as part of the district’s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.

     The bill provides that when adopting instructional materials for use in the schools of the district, a board of education must adopt inclusive instructional materials that portray the cultural and economic diversity of society including the political, economic, and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, where appropriate.  The board of education must have policies and procedures in place in regard to the selection of these materials.

     This bill is modeled on a law adopted in California, the “Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education (FAIR) Act,” which took effect on January 1, 2012.  The bill’s provisions first apply to the 2020-2021 school year.

      As amended and reported by the committee, this bill is identical to Assembly Bill No. 1335 with Assembly committee amendments, which also was reported by the committee on this same date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

      1) specify that a board of education must have policies and procedures in place pertaining to the selection of the instructional materials necessary to implement the bill’s requirements;

      2)  eliminate specific reference to the Social Studies Standards; and

      3) make the bill’s provisions first applicable to the 2020-2021 school year.