Bill > S2775

Introduced Session

This bill requires a public institution of higher education to post bias intimidation and crime statistics on the institution's Internet website. The bill also requires a public institution of higher education to adopt a bias intimidation policy. The "Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act" (Clery Act) requires institutions of higher education that participate in Title IV student financial assistance programs to disclose information about crime on and around the institution's campuses to students and the public. Specifically, the Clery Act requires institutions of higher education to release statistics, for the previous three years, related to bias intimidation and hate crimes for the following offenses: murder; sex offenses; robbery; aggravated assault; burglary; motor vehicle theft; manslaughter; arson; arrests or persons referred for campus disciplinary action for liquor law violations, drug-related violations, and weapons possession; larceny-theft; simple assault; intimidation; and destruction, damage, or vandalism of property, and any other crimes that involve bodily injury to any person. These statistics are currently publicly available on the United States Department of Education's Campus Safety and Security Internet website. Additionally, New Jersey law criminalizes acts of bias intimidation, defined as certain offenses committed with the purpose to intimidate or with the knowledge that the offense would intimidate an individual or group of individuals because of, protected characteristics, such as race, color, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, or ethnicity. This bill requires public institutions of higher education to post the statistics required under the Clery Act at a publicly accessible location on the institution's Internet website. Specifically, the bill requires an institution to post: (1) the institution's policy prohibiting bias intimidation; (2) a link to the United States Department of Education's Internet website for campus safety and security; (3) a link to the institution's crime statistics for each campus; and (4) statistics related to bias intimidation incidents at each of the institution's campuses. The bill requires the institution to inform every student and incoming student of the institution's Internet website. Additionally, the bill requires a public institution of higher education to incorporate a course module on bias intimidation into the institution's first-year student programming. Finally, the bill requires the governing board of each public institution of higher education to adopt a policy prohibiting bias intimidation. Under the bill, the policy is required to include: (1) a statement prohibiting bias intimidation and affirming the institution's values to diversity and inclusion; (2) disciplinary actions if a person commits an act of bias intimidation; (3) a definition of bias intimidation; (4) a description of the institution's programs to combat bias intimidation; (5) a procedure for a student to internally report an incident; (6) a procedure that the institution is to follow once an incident has been reported; (7) the identification of a designated employee or office at the institution that is to be responsible for receiving and tracking each report; and (8) a description of existing counseling options available to victims and perpetrators.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Joe Cryan (D)*,  Bob Singer (R)*,  Jim Beach (D), 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee (on 02/15/2024)

Official Document