Bill Text: NJ A1923 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits school districts from accessing a school-issued electronic communication device to monitor student conduct outside of school property.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-16 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A1923 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A1923-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits school districts from accessing a school-issued electronic communication device to monitor student conduct outside of school property.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning the monitoring of student conduct by school districts and supplementing chapter 36 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A school district that provides students with an electronic communication device shall be prohibited from accessing that electronic communication device to monitor the conduct of students outside of school property, and shall not use any image transmitted by the electronic communication device to track the location of the device. As used in this section, "electronic communication device" means any electronic device capable of transmitting images or sounds.
b. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of this act.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a school district that provides students with an electronic communication device from accessing that electronic communication device to monitor the conduct of students outside of school property. The bill also prohibits a school district from using any image transmitted by the electronic communication device to track the location of the device. As used in the bill, "electronic communication device" means any electronic device capable of transmitting images or sounds.
The purpose of this bill is to protect students and their families from an intrusion on their privacy, similar to that which is alleged to have occurred in a school district in another state. In that instance, it was alleged that a school official used a webcam included in a school-issued laptop computer to monitor student behavior at home.
