Bill Text: NJ A4414 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires public schools to report all student disciplinary actions; requires DOE to establish database and compile annual report concerning disparities in student disciplinary actions.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-10-22 - Combined with A1184 (ACS) [A4414 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A4414-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman HERB CONAWAY, JR.
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Requires public schools to report all student disciplinary actions; requires DOE to establish database and compile annual report concerning disparities in student disciplinary actions.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning student disciplinary actions and supplementing chapter 37 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. (1) A school district or charter school shall submit to the Commissioner of Education a monthly report concerning every student disciplinary action taken within each school operated by the school district or within the charter school. In addition to any other information required by the commissioner, the report shall include:
(a) the total number of expulsions, and the number and percentage of students who received an expulsion disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ status, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level;
(b) the total number of in-school suspensions, and the number and percentage of students who received an in-school suspension disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ status, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level;
(c) the total number of out-of-school suspensions, and the number and percentage of students who received an out-of-school suspension disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ status, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level;
(d) the total number of detentions, and the number and percentage of students who received a detention disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ status, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level; and
(e) the category of infraction that resulted in the imposition of each disciplinary action, the nature and duration of the disciplinary action imposed on the student as a result of the infraction, and the number of prior disciplinary actions taken against the student.
(2) The commissioner shall provide each school district and charter school with a uniform document upon which each monthly report required under this subsection shall be submitted. The uniform document shall ensure that the monthly report does not include the personally-identifiable information of any student.
(3) Upon written request of the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of a student who attends a school district or charter school, the school district or charter school shall provide a copy of the monthly report.
b. The commissioner shall
compile each monthly report received pursuant to subsection a. of this section
into a Statewide
student disciplinary action database. The database shall be posted on the Internet website of the department. At a minimum, the database shall aggregate State, county, and districtwide totals for each category of student disciplinary action data submitted pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
c. Based on the information received pursuant to subsection a. of this section, the commissioner shall submit an annual report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), concerning the student disciplinary practices of school districts and charter schools throughout the State. The annual report shall be published on the Internet website of the department. In addition to any other information that the commissioner may deem appropriate, the annual report shall include:
(1) an analysis of any disparities in student disciplinary actions that may exist throughout the State, including those disparities associated with a student's race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ status, eligibility for free or reduced priced meals, or eligibility for special education services;
(2) an analysis of any disparities in student disciplinary actions that may exist between the various geographic areas of the State; and
(3) a list of recommendations that school districts and charter schools may adopt to address disparities in student disciplinary actions.
d. The State Board of Education shall promulgate regulations, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of this section. The regulations shall, at a minimum, establish uniform standards for the submission of student disciplinary action data by school districts, including but not limited to, the categories of infractions that shall be reported under subparagraph (e) of paragraph (1) of subsection a. of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each school district and charter school to provide monthly reports to the Commissioner of Education concerning every student disciplinary action taken at the school. The bill also requires the Department of Education to create a Statewide database and complete an annual report to analyze any disparities in student disciplinary practices that may exist throughout the State.
Under the bill, the monthly report submitted by a school district or charter school would be required, at a minimum, to include: (1) the number of expulsions, in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, and detentions, respectively, and the number and percentage of students who received each form of punishment disaggregated, to the extent practicable, by race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ status, eligibility for free or reduced price meals, eligibility for special education services, and grade level; and (2) the category of infraction that resulted in the imposition of each disciplinary action, the nature and duration of the disciplinary action imposed on the student as a result of the infraction, and the number of prior disciplinary actions taken against the student.
The bill requires the commissioner to provide a uniform document to each school district and charter school upon which the monthly report would be submitted. The parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of a student who attends a school district or charter may also obtain a copy of the monthly report by submitting a written request to the school.
The bill also requires the department to compile the monthly reports of each school district and charter school into a Statewide student disciplinary action database to be posted on the department's website. At a minimum, the database would be required to aggregate State, county, and district-wide totals for each category of student disciplinary action data included in the monthly report.
Additionally, the bill requires the commissioner to compile, and post on the department's website, an annual report concerning the student disciplinary practices of school districts and charter schools throughout the State. In addition to any other information that the commissioner may deem appropriate, the bill requires the annual report to include: (1) an analysis of any disparities in student disciplinary actions that may exist throughout the State, including those disparities associated with a student's race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ status, eligibility for free or reduced priced meals, or eligibility for special education services; (2) an analysis of any disparities in student disciplinary actions that may exist between the various geographic areas of the State; and (3) a list of recommendations that school districts and charter schools may adopt to address disparities in student disciplinary actions.
