ASSEMBLY, No. 798

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblywoman FARRAGHER and Assemblyman ARNONE

An Act concerning the reporting of pupil assaults upon public school employees and amending P.L.1979, c.189.

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

    1. Section 2 of P.L.1979, c.189 (C.18A:37-2.1) is amended to read as follows:

    2. a. Any pupil who commits an assault, as defined pursuant to N.J.S.2C:12-1, upon a teacher, administrator, board member or other employee of a board of education, acting in the performance of his duties and in a situation where his authority to so act is apparent, or as a result of the victim's relationship to an institution of public education of this State, shall be immediately suspended from school consistent with procedural due process pending expulsion proceedings before the local board of education. Said proceedings shall take place no later than 21 calendar days following the day on which the pupil is suspended.

    b. Whenever a teacher, administrator, board member or other employee of a board of education makes an allegation that he has been assaulted by a pupil, the principal shall file a written report of the alleged assault with the district's superintendent of schools. The superintendent to whom the alleged assault is reported or, if there is no superintendent in the district, the principal who received the allegation from the employee, shall report the alleged assault to the board of education of the district at its next regular meeting.

    Any person who fails to file a report of an alleged assault as required pursuant to this subsection shall be liable to disciplinary action by the board of education of the district and the board shall

report to the county superintendent of schools the disciplinary action it imposes.

(cf: P.L.1979, c.189, s.2)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill requires that whenever a teacher, administrator, board member or other employee of a board of education makes an allegation that he has been assaulted by a pupil, the principal shall file a written report of the alleged assault with the superintendent of schools. The superintendent is then to report the alleged assault to the board of education at its next regular meeting.

    Under the bill's provisions, any person who fails to file a report of an alleged assault shall be liable to disciplinary action by the board of education of the district and the board must report to the county superintendent of schools the disciplinary action which it imposes.

Requires the filing of a written report of any alleged pupil assault upon a school employee.