ASSEMBLY, No. 519

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblywoman CRECCO

An Act concerning the public school curriculum, supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes and repealing section 2 of P.L.1979, c.428.

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

    1. Each local board of education shall provide the parents or guardians of all pupils enrolled in the public schools of the district with an outline of the curriculum and a list of instructional materials to be used in the family life education program in the grade in which the child is enrolled. The notification shall include instructions on how the parent or guardian may receive a copy of the complete curriculum for the relevant grade.

    Also, the board of education shall make available in each school building in the district a copy of the complete curriculum and all instructional materials and shall make these materials available to the parents or guardians upon their request.

    2. In addition to the curriculum materials, each local board of education shall provide the parents or guardians of all pupils enrolled in the public schools of the district with a written parental consent form which shall state that the parent or guardian has no objection to the child's participation in all or in any part of the family life education program. No child shall be enrolled in all or a part of the family life education program without the express written consent of the child's parent or guardian.

    3. Any child whose parent or guardian does not present to the school a signed statement authorizing the child's participation in all or part of the family life education course or program shall not be permitted to enroll in that part of the course or program, and no penalties as to credit or graduation shall result therefrom.

    4. Section 2 of P.L.1979, c.428 (C.18A:35-4.7) is repealed.

    5. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill requires the express written consent of a parent or guardian before a child may be permitted to enroll in the family life education program given by local school districts. It also requires that all curriculum material be made available to the parent or guardian upon request.

    The repealed section provided that a child could be excused from the family life education course if the parent or guardian sent a signed statement to the school principal that the course or a portion of it conflicted with his conscience or sincerely held moral or religious beliefs. This would now be governed by section 3 of this bill.

Requires written permission of the parent or guardian for the participation of a child in the family life education program in local school districts.