Bill Text: NJ A496 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires school districts and nonpublic schools to develop emergency operations plans; requires school districts to provide instruction on environmental and natural disasters to students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-11 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A496 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-A496-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Conaway
SYNOPSIS
Requires school districts and nonpublic schools to develop emergency operations plans; requires school districts to provide instruction on environmental and natural disasters to students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning emergency preparedness in the schools and supplementing chapter 40 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. The board of education of each school district and chief school administrator of each nonpublic school shall develop and coordinate an emergency operations plan to ensure the continuity of essential school functions under all circumstances. The plan shall:
(1) identify a baseline of preparedness for all potential emergencies, including fires, active shooters, natural disasters, environmental disasters, and pandemics, to establish a viable capability to perform essential functions during any emergency that disrupts normal operations; and
(2) be coordinated with State and local authorities including, but not limited to, the State Office of Emergency Management, local law enforcement officers, county and local health officers, county offices of emergency management, and other emergency responders.
b. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following components: identification of essential functions, programs, and personnel; procedures to implement the plan; delegation of authority and lines of succession; identification of alternative facilities and related infrastructure, including those for communications; identification and protection of vital records and databases; and schedules and procedures for periodic tests, training, and exercises. The plan shall be consistent with the local emergency operations plan of the municipality or municipalities in which the school district or nonpublic school is located.
c. The board of education or chief school administrator shall adopt and submit for review an emergency operations plan to the Commissioner of Education, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health, and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness within six months of the effective date of this act. The board or administrator shall review, update, and resubmit the plan to the offices every five years. If an emergency incident occurs at a school or facility of the board or nonpublic school during the five-year period, the plan shall be reviewed as soon as practicable after the incident occurs.
d. The Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health, and the Commissioner of Education shall review the emergency operations plan submitted by a board of education or chief school administrator pursuant to subsection c. of this section and, when necessary, shall in coordination with other State agencies make recommendations to the board or administrator for improving the plan.
e. Any plan prepared pursuant to this section shall not be considered a government record as defined in section 1 of P.L.1995, c.23 (C.47:1A-1.1) and shall not be available for public inspection, copying, or the purchase of copies.
2. The board of education or chief school administrator of a nonpublic school shall ensure that students enrolled in the school district or nonpublic school annually receive appropriate instruction related to the emergency operations plan adopted by the board of education or chief school administrator pursuant to section 1 of this act. The instruction shall include the expectations and responsibilities of students in the event that an emergency occurs.
3. a. Each school district shall incorporate instruction on environmental and natural disasters in the science, comprehensive health and physical education, and social studies curricula for students in grades K through 12 as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
b. The instruction shall:
(1) provide information on the types of environmental and natural disasters that have occurred, or which may occur, in the State;
(2) help students to understand school emergency policies and evacuation procedures; and
(3) focus on disaster preparedness, including how to make disaster preparedness kits and plans.
4. This act shall take effect immediately and section 3 shall first apply in the first full school year after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires school districts and nonpublic schools to develop emergency operations plans. The bill also requires school districts to provide instruction on environmental and natural disasters to students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12.
Under the bill, the board of education of each school district and the chief school administrator of each nonpublic school is required to develop and coordinate an emergency operations plan to ensure the continuity of essential school functions under all circumstances. The plan is required to identify a baseline of preparedness for all potential emergencies and be coordinated with State and local authorities. The bill requires the plan to include, but not be limited to, the following components: identification of essential functions, programs, and personnel; procedures to implement the plan; delegation of authority and lines of succession; identification of alternative facilities and related infrastructure, including those for communications; identification and protection of vital records and databases; and schedules and procedures for periodic tests, training, and exercises. The plan will be consistent with the local emergency operations plan of the municipality or municipalities in which the school district or nonpublic school is located.
The bill directs the board of education or chief school administrator to adopt and submit for review an emergency operations plan to the Commissioner of Education, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health, and the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness within six months of the bill's effective date. The board or administrator will be required to review, update, and resubmit the plan to the offices every five years. Under the bill, the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, the State Office of Emergency Management, the Department of Health, and the Commissioner of Education will be required to review the emergency operations plans submitted and, when necessary, make recommendations for a plan's improvement.
An emergency operation plan prepared pursuant to this bill will not be considered a government record under the State's open public records act and, therefore, will not be available for public inspection, copying, or the purchase of copies.
The bill also requires the board of education or chief school administrator of a nonpublic school to ensure that students enrolled in the school district or nonpublic school annually receive appropriate instruction related to the emergency operations plan adopted by the board of education or chief school administrator. The instruction will include the expectations and responsibilities of students in the event that an emergency occurs.
Finally, this bill requires that each school district will incorporate instruction on environmental and natural disasters in the science, comprehensive health and physical education, and social studies curricula for students in grades K through 12 as part of the district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.
