P.L. 1996, CHAPTER 100, approved August 19, 1996

Senate, No. 99 (Second Reprint)

An Act concerning physical examinations of school employees and amending N.J.S.18A:16-2.

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

    1. N.J.S.18A:16-2 is amended to read as follows:

    18A:16-2. ²a.² Every board of education [shall] may require [all of its employees, and may require] ¹its employees and shall require¹ any candidate for employment[,] ¹who has received a conditional offer of employment¹ to undergo a physical examination[, the scope whereof shall be determined under rules of the state board, at least once in every year] ¹[and] . The board¹ may require [additional] individual psychiatric or physical examinations of any employee, whenever, in the judgment of the board, an employee shows evidence of deviation from normal, physical or mental health.

    Any such examination may, if the board so requires, include laboratory tests or fluoroscopic or X-ray procedures for the obtaining of additional diagnostic data.

    Nothing in this section shall be so construed as to affect screening for tuberculosis or fitness examinations for bus drivers as required pursuant to statute, rule or regulation.

    ²b. A board of education may include testing for usage of controlled dangerous substances as they are defined in N.J.S.2C:35-2 as part of any physical examination which is required of a candidate for employment who has received a conditional offer of employment. Any testing shall be conducted by a physician or institution designated by the board of education and the costs shall be paid by the board.

    The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, shall develop guidelines for school boards which elect to require the testing.²

(cf: N.J.S.18A:16-2)

    2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Eliminates annual physical examination required of all school employees.