S1020 2R

An Act concerning student ¹[discipline and supplementing chapter 37 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes] disciplinary actions and amending P.L.1995, c.235 and P.L.1982, c.163¹.

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

¹[1. a. Each school district and charter school shall submit to the Commissioner of Education a monthly discipline report for each school in the district or charter school. The discipline report shall include:

(1) the total number of student expulsions, and the number and percentage of students expelled disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program;

(2) the total number of in-school suspensions, and the number and percentage of students who received an in-school suspension disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program; and

(3) the total number of out-of-school suspensions, and the number and percentage of students who received an out-of-school suspension disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program.

b. Each school district and charter school shall publish on its website an annual discipline report for each school in the district or charter school. The report shall include aggregate data based on reports submitted to the commissioner pursuant to subsection a. of this section.

The school district or charter school shall ensure in publishing its report that it is in compliance with all federal and State laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to the privacy of student education records.]¹

¹1. Section 3 of P.L.1995, c.235 (C.18A:7E-3) is amended to read as follows:

3. Report cards issued pursuant to section 2 of this act shall include, but not be limited to, the following information for:

a. the school district and for each school within the district, as appropriate:

(1) results of the elementary assessment programs;

(2) results of the Early Warning Test;

(3) results of the High School Proficiency Test;

(4) daily attendance records for students and professional staff;

(5) student graduation and dropout rates;

(6) annual student scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test;

(7) total student enrollment, percentage of limited English proficient students, percentage of students in advanced placement courses, and any other school characteristics which the commissioner deems appropriate;

(8) instructional resources including teacher/student ratio, average class size and amount of instructional time per day, as calculated by formulas specified by the commissioner;

(9) a written narrative by the school principal or a designee which describes any special achievements, events, problems or initiatives of the school or district;

(10) data identifying the number and nature of all reports of harassment, intimidation, or bullying;

(11) indicators of student career readiness;

(12) the number and percentage of students who were chronically absent, as defined in rules and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Education within 90 days of the effective date of P.L.2018, c.23 (C.18A:38-25.1 et al.), including the number and percentage of students who were chronically absent disaggregated by multiple student subgroups to be determined by the commissioner; and

(13) the number [and] , percentage , and demographics, including race, gender, disability, grade level, and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program, of students who received [a disciplinary suspension] one or more suspensions or expulsions ², who were subjected to the use of physical restraint or seclusion techniques,² or who were reported to or arrested by law enforcement, by category of offense, pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement Between Education and Law Enforcement Officials; and

b. the school district, as appropriate:

(1) per pupil expenditures and State aid ratio;

(2) percent of budget allocated for salaries and benefits of administrative personnel;

(3) percent of budget allocated for salaries and benefits of teachers;

(4) percentage increase over the previous year for salaries and benefits of administrative and instructional personnel;

(5) the number of administrative personnel and the ratio of administrative personnel to instructional personnel;

(6) a profile of the most recent graduating class concerning their educational or employment plans following graduation; and

(7) any other information which the commissioner deems appropriate.

For the purposes of this section, the Commissioner of Education shall establish a uniform methodology for the reporting of the data concerning administrative personnel on a full-time equivalent basis.¹

(cf: P.L.2018, c.23, s.1)

¹2. Section 3 of P.L.1982, c.163 (C.18A:17-48) is amended to read as follows:

3. a. The Commissioner of Education shall each year submit a report to the Education Committees of the Senate and General Assembly detailing the extent of violence, vandalism, and harassment, intimidation, or bullying in the public schools and [making recommendations to alleviate the problem] documenting steps taken to verify and validate school district reporting. The report shall be made available annually to the public no later than October 1, and shall be posted on the department's website.

b. The Commissioner of Education shall each year compile the information reported by each school district to the Department of Education pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1982, c.163 (C.18A:17-46) into a Statewide database. The database shall be posted on the department’s Internet website. At a minimum, the database shall provide school level totals for each category of student disciplinary actions, including in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, ²use of physical restraint or seclusion techniques,² referrals to law enforcement, and arrests, as well as demographic information of the students who received the disciplinary action.¹

(cf: P.L.2010, c.122, s.8)

¹[2.] 3.¹ This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.