A5330

An Act concerning COVID-19 infection in institutions of higher education and supplementing P.L.1994, c.48 (C.18A:3B-1 et al.).

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act, "COVID-19" means the coronavirus disease 2019, as announced by the World Health Organization on February 11, 2020, and first identified in Wuhan, China.

2. a. (1) During a public health emergency declared by the Governor in response to COVID-19, pursuant to the “Emergency Health Powers Act,” P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.), an institution of higher education that receives a report of a lab-confirmed positive test result of COVID-19 or a death related to COVID-19 with respect to an enrolled student, employee, volunteer, or visitor shall ensure that all members of the higher education community, including but not limited to students, employees, volunteers, and visitors, shall receive notice of the confirmed case or death within 24 hours of the initial report. The notice shall be consistent with all State and federal privacy laws. The institution shall not be required to provide notice of a lab-confirmed positive test result of COVID-19 or death related to COVID-19 with respect to an individual who is not reporting to or attending the campus or an institution activity in-person.

(2) Each institution of higher education shall designate an existing employee as a primary point of contact for inquiries from members of the institution’s community on data, policies, and other information pertaining to COVID-19. The institution shall display the contact information for the designee in a prominent location on the institution’s website.

(3) Each institution of higher education shall display a data dashboard detailing the number of COVID-19 reports received pursuant to this subsection. The dashboard shall provide separate data for the number of COVID-19 reports received pursuant to this subsection of students who have attended in-person activities but who have not attended in-person classes. The information shall be reported for each campus of an institution, where applicable. The data dashboard shall be displayed in a prominent location on the institution’s website.

b. An institution of higher education shall exclude from in-person activities, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, any student, employee, volunteer, or visitor who:

(1) self-reports experiencing symptoms of COVID-19;

(2) has received a lab-confirmed positive test result for COVID-19; or

(3) is a close contact or immediate family member of an individual who has received a lab-confirmed positive test result for COVID-19.

c. Each institution of higher education shall establish a protocol to log the contact information of campus visitors, to the greatest extent practicable. The log shall include the contact information of each visitor and the date and time of such visits.

d. Each institution of higher education shall notify the Secretary of Higher Education and the Commissioner of Health upon receipt of each report of a lab-confirmed positive test result of COVID-19 or a death related to COVID-19 with respect to an enrolled student, employee, volunteer, or visitor of the institution of higher education.

e. The institution of higher education shall assist the local health department in identifying an affected individual’s close contacts within the institution. The institution shall designate at least one existing employee to assist the local health department with contact tracing, as needed.

The institution shall not permit close contacts to enter the campus or its facilities during such period of exclusion as is recommended by the local health department.

f. In the event that an institution of higher education receives a report of a lab-confirmed positive test result of COVID-19 or a death related to COVID-19 with respect to an enrolled student, employee, volunteer, or visitor after the expiration of the public health emergency declared by the Governor in response to COVID-19, pursuant to the “Emergency Health Powers Act,” P.L.2005, c.222 (C.26:13-1 et seq.), the provisions of this section shall apply only upon the direction of the Commissioner of Health.

3. a. The Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, shall oversee the development and maintenance of a data dashboard that collects and tracks the information received from institutions of higher education pursuant to section 2 of this act. The information maintained in the data dashboard shall include, by institution:

(1) the number of reports received of lab-confirmed positive test results of COVID-19 with respect to enrolled students, employees, volunteers, and visitors of institutions of higher education;

(2) the number of reports received of lab-confirmed positive test results of COVID-19 with respect to enrolled students who attended in-person activities but did not attend in-person classes; and

(3) the number of reports received of deaths related to COVID-19 with respect to enrolled students, employees, volunteers, and visitors of institutions of higher education.

b. The data dashboard developed pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall be prominently displayed on the website of the Secretary of Higher Education and shall be updated each business day. The data dashboard shall include a mechanism for an individual to make a report to the secretary of an institution that fails to meet its reporting obligations pursuant to subsection d. of section 2 of this act.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires institutions of higher education to provide information to their school communities on the number of students, employees, and other members of the institution’s community who are infected with, or have died as a result of, COVID-19. The bill also restricts, in accordance with CDC guidelines, any member of the community who is infected with COVID-19, or at certain risk of infection, from in-person activities.

Under the bill, if an institution of higher education receives a report of a lab-confirmed positive test result of COVID-19 or a death related to COVID-19 with respect to an enrolled student, employee, volunteer, or visitor, they must ensure that all members of the higher education community receive notice of the confirmed case or death within 24 hours of the initial report. The notice must be consistent with all State and federal privacy laws.

The bill also provides that each institution of higher education must designate an existing employee as a primary point of contact for inquiries from members of the institution’s community on data, policies, and other information pertaining to COVID-19. Additionally, the bill directs each institution of higher education to display a data dashboard detailing the number of COVID-19 reports received pursuant to the bill.

Under the bill, an institution of higher education must, in accordance with CDC guidelines, restrict in-person activities of any student, employee, volunteer, or visitor who:

(1) self-reports experiencing symptoms of COVID-19;

(2) has received a lab-confirmed positive test result for COVID-19; or

(3) is a close contact or immediate family member of an individual who has received a lab-confirmed positive test result for COVID-19.

The bill directs each institution of higher education to establish a protocol to log the contact information of campus visitors. The bill also directs each institution to notify the Secretary of Higher Education and the Commissioner of Health upon receipt of each report of a lab-confirmed positive test result of COVID-19 or a death related to COVID-19 with respect to an enrolled student, employee, volunteer, or visitor of the institution. The institution must also assist the local health department in identifying an affected individual’s close contacts within the institution’s community. The institution is directed to designate at least one existing employee to assist the local health department with contact tracing, as needed.

The institution of higher education cannot permit close contacts to enter the school or its facilities during such period of exclusion as is recommended by the local health department.

Finally, the bill directs the Secretary of Higher Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, to oversee the development and maintenance of a data dashboard that collects and tracks the information received from institutions of higher education pursuant to the bill.

The data dashboard must be prominently displayed on the website of the secretary and will be updated each business day. The data dashboard must also include a mechanism for an individual to make a report to the secretary of an institution of higher education that fails to meet its reporting obligations pursuant to the bill’s provisions.