Bill Text: NJ A5477 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires school districts to include instruction on dangers of consuming unknown food and beverages.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-09-14 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee [A5477 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A5477-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHANIQUE SPEIGHT
District 29 (Essex and Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
Requires school districts to include instruction on dangers of consuming unknown food and beverages.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning instruction on the dangers of consuming unknown food and beverages in school districts and supplementing P.L.1987, c.389 (C.18A:40A-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A school district shall include instruction on the effects of consuming unknown food and beverages in an appropriate place in the curriculum of students in kindergarten through grade 12 as part of the school district's implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.
b. The instruction shall include, at minimum, information on:
(1) the dangers of consuming unknown food and beverages, which may include, but not be limited to, any cannabis item as defined in section 3 of P.L.2021, c.16 (C.24:6I-33), any hemp or hemp-derived cannabinoid product as defined in section 3 of P.L.2019, c.238 (C.4:28-8), and any food or beverage containing psilocybin or a controlled dangerous substance as defined in section 2 of P.L.1970, c.266 (C.24:21-2);
(2) food and beverage items that may be more likely to contain cannabis, hemp, psilocybin, or a controlled dangerous substance;
(3) recognizing the symptoms of, and appropriately responding to, being intoxicated from the consumption of a food or beverage containing cannabis, hemp, psilocybin, or a controlled dangerous substance; and
(4) laws that provide immunity or other protections for persons who seek medical treatment for substance ingestion for themselves or others.
c. The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health and the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, shall provide school districts with age-appropriate resources that address the requirements established pursuant to this section, along with annually updated educational materials for parents or guardians.
2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires school districts to include instruction on the dangers of consuming unknown food or beverages to students in kindergarten through grade 12. School districts are required to provide instruction on: (1) the dangers of consuming unknown food and beverages, which may include, but not be limited to, any cannabis item, any hemp or hemp-derived cannabinoid product, and any food or beverage containing psilocybin or a controlled dangerous substance; (2) food and beverage items that may be more likely to contain cannabis, hemp, psilocybin, or a controlled dangerous substance; (3) recognizing the symptoms of, and appropriately responding to, being intoxicated from the consumption of a food or beverage containing cannabis, hemp, psilocybin, or a controlled substance; and (4) laws that provide immunity or other protections for persons who seek medical treatment for substance ingestion for themselves or others.
Additionally, this bill requires the Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health and the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, to provide school districts with age-appropriate resources that address the requirements of the bill.
