Bill > A3934

Introduced Session

This bill revises current law on school safety teams. The bill changes the name of the "school safety team" to "school climate team" to reduce confusion regarding the team's duties. Additionally, the bill requires the school climate team to meet once per month. The bill increases the school climate team's responsibilities to require: (1) collaboration with recognized experts in school bullying from a cross section of academia, child advocacy organizations, nonprofit organizations, professional associations, and government agencies; (2) annual completion of a self-assessment for evaluating a school's efforts to implement the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act," to submit the self-assessment to the board of education for approval, and to submit the approved self-assessment to the Commissioner of Education; (3) completion of a survey of the conditions of the school climate using resources provided by the Department of Education; and (4) development, in collaboration with the school district, of a district school climate improvement plan as required under this bill. Additionally, the bill requires the school climate team receive training on the school district's harassment, intimidation, or bullying policy. It further requires the members of the school climate team to complete the in-service workshops and training programs required for the district anti-bullying coordinators and school anti-bullying specialists. This bill requires each school district's policy on harassment, intimidation, or bullying to include a requirement to establish an anti-bullying mentorship program at each school in the district. The program is required to foster mentoring relationships between teachers and students, prevent incidents of harassment, intimidation, or bullying, and promote a positive school climate. Finally, the bill requires a school district, in collaboration with the school climate team for each school in the district, to develop a district school climate improvement plan. The plan is to be submitted to the board of education for review and approval by May 31 of each year. The school climate teams are to report on the implementation of the current district school climate improvement plan at their respective schools to the board of education no later than December 31 of each year. Additionally, a school district, as part of its comprehensive review conducted under the New Jersey Quality Single Accountability Continuum (NJQSAC) is to submit the district school climate improvement plan. The bill provides that the State Board of Education is to assign point values for a school district's compliance under NJQSAC. This bill's provisions implement certain recommendations of the report from the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Task Force, dated December 28, 2023.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Vicky Flynn (R)*, 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee (on 03/04/2024)

Official Document