SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3433

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JUNE 17, 2019

      The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No. 3433.

     Under current law, all acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying must be reported in writing to the school principal within two school days of when the school employee or contracted service provider witnessed or received reliable information that a student had been subject to harassment, intimidation, or bullying.  This bill provides that the written report must be on a numbered form developed by the Department of Education.  The principal will be responsible for immediately submitting the form to the superintendent of schools, the executive county superintendent, and to the parents or guardians of students involved in the alleged incident in accordance with federal and State law and regulations.  Under the provisions of the bill, the form must be completed, even if a preliminary determination is made under the school district’s policy that the reported incident or complaint is a report outside the scope of the definition of harassment, intimidation, or bullying under the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act,” P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-13 et seq.).  If a school district’s policy permits a preliminary determination to be made on a reported incident or complaint, the determination will be required to be made by a safe schools resource officer, if one has been assigned to the school by the board of education.  The bill also requires a school district to provide a means for a parent or guardian to complete an online form to report an incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying.

     Pursuant to the provisions of the bill, the district’s anti-bullying policy must include specific consequences for a student who commits an act of harassment, intimidation or bullying.  Under the bill, for the first act of harassment, intimidation, or bullying committed by a student, a copy of the results of the investigation will be placed in the student’s record and the student may be subject to discipline imposed by the superintendent; for the second act, a copy of the results of the investigation will be placed in the student’s record and the student will be subject to a plan of disciplinary action established by the superintendent; and for the third act, a copy of the results of the investigation will be placed in the student’s record, and the executive county superintendent will be informed and will impose the appropriate discipline and require the student, accompanied by a parent or guardian, to complete a class or training program to reduce the tendency toward harassment, intimidation or bullying behavior. The executive county superintendent will also notify the appropriate law enforcement official of a possible violation of the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice.

     The bill also requires that if a safe schools resource officer has been assigned to a school, that individual must be appointed by the principal to the position of school anti-bullying specialist.  Additionally, the bill requires that as part of the information provided by the superintendent of schools twice a year to the board of education regarding acts of violence, vandalism, and bullying which occurred during the previous reporting period, the superintendent will provide the board with information on the number of reports that were determined, pursuant to the district’s preliminary determination process, not to meet the statutory definition of bullying.

     Currently, under the provisions of the cyber-harassment statute, section 1 of P.L.2013, c.272 (C.2C:33-4.1), the court may order a parent or guardian of a minor under the age of 16 who has been adjudicated delinquent of cyber-harassment to attend classes or training with the minor. Failure to comply with these conditions results in a disorderly persons offense and the imposition of a fine of not more than $25 for a first offense and not more than $100 for each subsequent offense.

     The bill would increase the monetary penalty against the parent or guardian for failure to comply with the class or training program as follows: (1) the $25 fine for a first offense would be increased to $100; and (2) the $100 fine for each subsequent offense would be increased to $500.

     In addition, civil liability may be imposed on a parent or guardian, having legal custody of the minor, who demonstrates a willful or wanton disregard in the exercise of the supervision and control of a minor adjudicated delinquent of cyber-harassment or harassment.

     The bill, named Mallory’s Law, is in response to the tragic case of 12-year old Mallory Grossman who was subjected to unrelenting bullying at school and online leading up to her suicide.  The bill attempts to address this issue by placing more stringent safeguards in the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act.”