Bill Text: NJ SR100 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges federal government to preserve school discipline guidance package issued in 2014.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-09-24 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Education Committee [SR100 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-SR100-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Urges federal government to preserve school discipline guidance package issued in 2014.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution urging the federal government to preserve school discipline guidance.
Whereas, In January 2014, the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice jointly issued a school discipline guidance package including, but not limited to, the January 8, 2014 Dear Colleague Letter on the Nondiscriminatory Administration of School Discipline, and a document entitled "Guiding Principles: A Resource Guide for Improving School Climate and Discipline"; and
Whereas, The 2014 federal guidance package was intended to assist states and schools in enhancing school climate, improving school discipline practices, and ensuring that such practices are effective and nondiscriminatory; and
Whereas, The guidance encourages schools to utilize positive behavioral interventions, such as conflict resolution and counseling, and to limit the use of suspensions, expulsions, and other exclusionary practices that remove students from regular academic instruction; and
Whereas, The guidance provides valuable information to assist schools in meeting their obligations under federal law to administer student discipline without discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin; and
Whereas, This past spring, the current federal administration held meetings and roundtables concerning school discipline guidance and is considering whether it might revise or rescind the 2014 school discipline guidance package; and
Whereas, On August 24, 2018, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, together with the Attorneys General of nine other states and the District of Columbia, submitted a letter to United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions expressing strong support for the federal school discipline guidance and opposing any efforts to weaken or rescind it; and
Whereas, The multi-state letter emphasizes recent research on the harmful effects of exclusionary school discipline and the positive impacts of alternative behavioral interventions and supports; and
Whereas, The letter also highlights the disproportionate effect of exclusionary school discipline on certain student groups, and the Department of Education's responsibility to protect students from discrimination; and
Whereas, It is in the best interests of students and schools throughout the nation to keep the 2014 federal guidance package in place in order to continue to assist schools in employing positive, non-exclusionary discipline measures and administering student discipline in a nondiscriminatory manner; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House urges the federal government to preserve the school discipline guidance package issued in 2014, which encourages schools to develop positive discipline policies and assists schools in administering student discipline in a nondiscriminatory manner.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the United States Department of Education, the United States Department of Justice, and the President of the United States.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the federal government to preserve the school discipline guidance package issued in 2014 by the United States Department of Education and the United States Department of Justice. The guidance encourages schools to develop positive discipline policies and to limit the use of suspensions, expulsions, and other exclusionary practices that remove students from the classroom. The guidance also provides invaluable information to assist schools in ensuring that their student discipline practices are applied in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner.
