Bill > A496

Introduced Session

This bill requires school districts and nonpublic schools to develop emergency operations plans. The bill also requires school districts to provide instruction on environmental and natural disasters to students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12. Under the bill, the board of education of each school district and the chief school administrator of each nonpublic school is required to develop and coordinate an emergency operations plan to ensure the continuity of essential school functions under all circumstances. The plan is required to identify a baseline of preparedness for all potential emergencies and be coordinated with State and local authorities. The bill requires the plan to include, but not be limited to, the following components: identification of essential functions, programs, and personnel; procedures to implement the plan; delegation of authority and lines of succession; identification of alternative facilities and related infrastructure, including those for communications; identification and protection of vital records and databases; and schedules and procedures for periodic tests, training, and exercises. The plan will be consistent with the local emergency operations plan of the municipality or municipalities in which the school district or nonpublic school is located. The bill directs the board of education or chief school administrator to adopt and submit for review an emergency operations plan to the Commissioner of Education, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health, and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness within six months of the bill's effective date. The board or administrator will be required to review, update, and resubmit the plan to the offices every five years. Under the bill, the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health, and the Commissioner of Education will be required to review the emergency operations plans submitted and, when necessary, make recommendations for a plan's improvement. An emergency operation plan prepared pursuant to this bill will not be considered a government record under the State's open public records act and, therefore, will not be available for public inspection, copying, or the purchase of copies. The bill also requires the board of education or chief school administrator of a nonpublic school to ensure that students enrolled in the school district or nonpublic school annually receive appropriate instruction related to the emergency operations plan adopted by the board of education or chief school administrator. The instruction will include the expectations and responsibilities of students in the event that an emergency occurs. Finally, this bill requires that each school district will incorporate instruction on environmental and natural disasters in the science, comprehensive health and physical education, and social studies curricula for students in grades K through 12 as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Angela Mcknight (D)*,  Carol Murphy (D)*,  Herbert Conaway (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee (on 01/11/2022)

Official Document