Bill Text: NJ A4342 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires county colleges and four-year public institutions of higher education to award college credits to police officers for certain courses completed at county police academies.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-02 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Higher Education Committee [A4342 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A4342-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires county colleges and four-year public institutions of higher education to award college credits to police officers for certain courses completed at county police academies.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the award of college credit to certain police officers and supplementing chapters 62 and 64A 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 person who successfully completes a course at a county police academy shall receive college credit for the course at a four-year public institution of higher education that offers a criminal justice degree program if: (1) the institution determines after a review of the curriculum of the course offered by the county police academy that the curriculum is similar to the curriculum of a course offered in the institution's criminal justice program; and (2) upon completion of the course, the person successfully completes an examination approved by the institution. The institution shall waive any credit-by-exam fee that it may charge.
b. The county police academies shall work jointly with four-year public institutions of higher education that offer a criminal justice degree program to identify courses at the county police academies which offer a curriculum similar to that of courses included in the criminal justice programs of those institutions.
2. a. A person who successfully completes a course at a county police academy shall receive college credit for the course at a county college that offers a criminal justice degree program if: (1) the county college determines after a review of the curriculum of the course offered by the county police academy that the curriculum is similar to the curriculum of a course offered in the county college's criminal justice program; and (2) upon completion of the course, the person successfully completes an examination approved by the county college. The county college shall waive any credit-by-exam fee it may charge.
b. The county police academies shall work jointly with county colleges that offer a criminal justice degree program to identify courses at the county police academies which offer a curriculum similar to that of courses included in the county colleges' criminal justice programs.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill will allow a person who successfully completes a course at a county police academy to receive college credit for the course at a county college or a four-year public institution of higher education that offers a criminal justice degree program. Before college credit is awarded, a county college or four-year public institution of higher education must determine that the curriculum of a course offered by the police academy is similar to the curriculum of a course offered in the county college or institution's criminal justice program, and upon completion of the course, the person seeking college credit must successfully complete an examination approved by the county college or institution. The county college and institution must waive any credit-by-exam fee it may charge.
This bill will also require county police academies to work with county colleges and four-year public institutions of higher education that offer a criminal justice degree program to identify courses at the county police academies that are similar to criminal justice courses offered at the county colleges and public institutions of higher education.
