A1184 A4414 ACS

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANDREW ZWICKER

District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)

Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.

District 7 (Burlington)

Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblyman RALPH R. CAPUTO

District 28 (Essex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Lampitt, Murphy, Jasey, Vainieri Huttle and Timberlake

SYNOPSIS

Requires public schools and charter schools to report student disciplinary actions to Commissioner of Education; requires DOE to establish database and complete annual report concerning student disciplinary actions.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Substitute as adopted by the Assembly Education Committee.

An Act concerning student disciplinary actions and supplementing chapter 37 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. (1) A school district or charter school shall submit to the Commissioner of Education a biannual report concerning every student disciplinary action taken within each school operated by the school district or within the charter school. In addition to any other information required by the commissioner, the report shall include for each school:

(a) a breakdown of the total student population numbers and the number of students disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level;

(b) the total number of expulsions, and the number and percentage of students who received an expulsion disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level;

(c) the total number of in-school suspensions, and the number and percentage of students who received an in-school suspension disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level;

(d) the total number of out-of-school suspensions, and the number and percentage of students who received an out-of-school suspension disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level;

(e) the duration of the disciplinary actions imposed on the students as set forth in subparagraphs (c) and (d) of this paragraph and the number of prior disciplinary actions taken concerning a student during the biannual reporting period.

(2) The commissioner shall provide each school district and charter school access to a uniform data reporting system for the filing of data and submission of its biannual report required under paragraph (1) of this subsection. The uniform data reporting system shall ensure that the biannual report does not include the personally-identifiable information of any student, or require reporting by a school district or charter school that would result in a breach of student confidentiality, student records, or data privacy requirements under any State or federal laws, rules, or regulations.

(3) The Superintendent of a school district or charter school leader shall present the results of the biannual report to the local board of education or board of trustees of the charter school at a public hearing pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1982, c.163 (C.18A:17-46).

b. The commissioner shall compile each biannual report received pursuant to subsection a. of this section into a Statewide annual student disciplinary action database. The database shall be posted on the Internet website of the Department of Education. At a minimum, the database shall aggregate State, county, and districtwide totals for each category of student disciplinary action data submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section.

c. Based on the information received pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the commissioner shall submit an annual report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), concerning the student disciplinary practices of school districts and charter schools throughout the State. The annual report shall be published on the Internet website of the department. In addition to any other information that the commissioner may deem appropriate, the annual report shall include:

(1) an analysis of any disparities in student disciplinary actions that may exist throughout the State, including those disparities associated with a student’s race, ethnicity, gender, eligibility for free or reduced priced meals, or eligibility for special education services;

(2) an analysis of any disparities in student disciplinary actions that may exist between the various geographic areas of the State; and

(3) a list of research-based practices and recommendations that school districts and charter schools may adopt to address disparities in student disciplinary actions.

d. As used in this section, “disciplinary action” means any instance where a student is either permanently or temporarily removed from the student’s regular educational placement for disciplinary purposes for a period of time greater than half an instructional day by a school district or charter school.

2. The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of this act. The regulations shall, at a minimum, establish uniform standards for the submission of student disciplinary action data by school districts.

3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.