Bill Text: NJ S4147 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes "Conflict Resolution in Schools Commission."
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-10-24 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [S4147 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S4147-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH PENNACCHIO
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes "Conflict Resolution in Schools Commission."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing a "Conflict Resolution in Schools Commission" and supplementing chapter 4 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 Conflict Resolution in Schools Commission is created and established in the Executive Branch of the State Government. For the purposes of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the commission is allocated within the Department of Education, but notwithstanding this allocation, the commission shall be independent of any supervision or control by the department or any board or officer thereof.
The commission shall consist of 11 members as follows: the Commissioner of Education, ex officio, or a designee; the Attorney General, ex officio, or a designee; and nine public members. The Governor shall appoint 5 public members including: a retired judge with experience in the juvenile justice system; a representative of the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America; a representative of the National Rifle Association; a representative of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; and a criminologist. The Senate President shall appoint a representative of the New Jersey School Counselor Association. The Senate Minority Leader shall appoint a representative of the New Jersey Association of School Psychologists. The Speaker of the General Assembly shall appoint a representative of the New Jersey Education Association. The Minority Leader of the General Assembly shall appoint an adolescent clinical psychiatrist.
b. Each public member of the commission shall serve for a term of three years, except that of the initial public members so appointed: three members appointed by the Governor shall serve for terms of one year; two members appointed by the Governor and the appointment by the Senate President shall serve for terms of two years; and the remaining members shall serve for terms of three years. Public members shall be eligible for reappointment. They shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified, and the term of the successor of any incumbent shall be calculated from the expiration of the term of that incumbent. A vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment but for the unexpired term only.
c. Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties pursuant to this act.
d. The commission shall annually elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson from among its members and a secretary who need not be a member of the commission.
e. The commission shall appoint an executive director, who shall serve at its pleasure and shall be a person qualified by training and experience to perform the duties of the office.
2. The commission shall have the following responsibilities and duties:
a. to survey and catalog the extent and breadth of conflict resolution programming presently being provided in the schools of the State, and to review the incorporation of conflict resolution strategies into the current curriculum;
b. to coordinate educational events, such as assemblies, theater programs, and workshops, for both students and educators on how to use various conflict resolution strategies;
c. to develop programming and resources that improve the ability of teachers and administrators to:
(1) identify the signs that a student is in need of mental health services and supports; and
(2) make effective and timely referrals for students in need of mental health services and supports;
d. to evaluate, report on, and recommend to the Governor and the Legislature strategies and best practices that develop the social-emotional skills of students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12, including reports on:
(1) the merits and applicability of various conflict resolution strategies in public elementary and secondary schools such as peer mediation, process curriculum, peaceable classrooms and schools, and restorative justice techniques;
(2) school policies that outline punitive actions for interpersonal conflicts, including violent incidents or threats of violence;
(3) options for educating teachers and administrators on how to best improve the social-emotional learning of students; and
(4) potential resources that will enable teachers to build supportive classroom communities;
e. to meet with county and local school officials and other interested public and private organizations, including service organizations, for the purpose of assisting with the planning, coordination or modification of courses of study dealing with the subject of conflict resolution;
f. to develop a searchable database of regionally-available activities and programs that help students develop crucial conflict-solving skills while teambuilding, which shall be available to the public on the website of the commission; and
g. to develop, in consultation with the Department of Education, curriculum guidelines for the teaching of information on conflict resolution strategies. Every board of education shall incorporate the information in an appropriate place in the curriculum of elementary and secondary school students.
3. a. The commission is authorized to call upon any department, office, division or agency of the State, or of any county, municipality or school district of the State, to supply such data, program reports and other information, personnel and assistance as it deems necessary to discharge its responsibilities under this act.
b. These departments, offices, divisions and agencies shall, to the extent possible and not inconsistent with any other law of this State, cooperate with the commission and shall furnish it with such information, personnel and assistance as may be necessary or helpful to accomplish the purposes of this act.
4. This act shall take effect on the 30th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a "Conflict Resolution in Schools Commission." Under the bill, the commission will be allocated in the Department of Education and will consist of 11 members including: the Commissioner of Education, ex officio, or a designee; the Attorney General, ex officio, or a designee; five public members to be appointed by the Governor; and one public member appointed each by the Senate President, the Senate Minority Leader, the Speaker of the General Assembly, and the Minority Leader of the General Assembly. The public members will include: a retired judge with experience in the juvenile justice system; a representative of the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America; a representative of the National Rifle Association; a representative of the New Jersey Education Association; a representative of the New Jersey Association of School Psychologists; a representative of the New Jersey School Counselor Association; a representative of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; a criminologist; and an adolescent clinical psychiatrist.
Under the bill, the commission will have the following responsibilities and duties:
� to survey and catalog the extent and breadth of conflict resolution programming presently being provided in the schools of the State, and to review the incorporation of conflict resolution strategies into the current curriculum;
� to coordinate educational events, such as assemblies, theater programs, and workshops, for both students and educators on how to use various conflict resolution strategies;
� to develop programming and resources that improve the ability of teachers and administrators to:
o identify the signs that a student is in need of mental health services and supports; and
o make effective and timely referrals for mental health services and supports;
� to evaluate, report on, and recommend to the Governor and the Legislature strategies and best practices that develop the social-emotional skills of students enrolled in grades kindergarten through 12;
� to meet with county and local school officials and other interested public and private organizations, including service organizations, for the purpose of assisting with the planning, coordination or modification of courses of study dealing with the subject of conflict resolution;
� to develop a searchable database of regionally-available activities and programs that help students develop crucial conflict-solving skills while teambuilding, which shall be available to the public on the website of the commission; and
� to develop, in consultation with the Department of Education, curriculum guidelines for the teaching of information on conflict resolution strategies. Every board of education is directed under the bill to incorporate the information in an appropriate place in the curriculum of elementary and secondary school students.
The bill provides that the commission is authorized to call upon any department, office, division or agency of the State, or of any county, municipality or school district of the State, to supply such data, program reports and other information, personnel and assistance as it deems necessary to discharge its responsibilities under this bill.
