STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MARLENE CARIDE
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman TROY SINGLETON
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Requires State Board of Education regulations regarding school nurse certification to include certain minimum eligibility requirements.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning school nurse certification 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. State Board of Education regulations prescribing the requirements for eligibility for an educational services certificate with a school nurse endorsement shall, at a minimum, require that a candidate for the endorsement:
a. is licensed as a registered nurse pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-23 et seq.);
b. holds a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited college or university;
c. completes either a Department of Education-approved college curriculum for the preparation of school nurses or a program of studies, with a minimum of 30 semester hour credits, that includes study in subject areas determined by the State board and clinical experience in a school nurse office; and
d. completes a college-supervised school nurse practicum experience, a portion of which shall be completed in a school nurse office and a portion of which shall be completed in a classroom. The practicum experience may count toward the minimum 30 semester hour credit requirement.
2. State Board of Education regulations prescribing the requirements for eligibility for an educational services certificate with a school nurse/non-instructional endorsement shall, at a minimum, require that a candidate for the endorsement:
a. is licensed as a registered nurse pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1947, c.262 (C.45:11-23 et seq.);
b. holds a bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited college or university; and
c. completes either a Department of Education-approved college curriculum for the preparation of school nurses or a program of studies, with a minimum of 21 semester hour credits, that includes study in subject areas determined by the State board and clinical experience in a school nurse office.
3. Nothing in this act shall be construed to limit the authority of the State Board of Education to prescribe additional eligibility requirements for a school nurse endorsement or a school nurse/non-instructional endorsement.
4. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
State Board of Education regulations at N.J.A.C.6A:9-13.3 and 13.4 govern school nurse certification. The State board recently adopted amendments to these provisions, which reduced credit requirements for a school nurse endorsement from 30 to 21 semester hour credits, and reduced credit requirements for a non-instructional school nurse endorsement from 21 to 15 semester hour credits. The amendments also eliminated the requirement that a candidate for a school nurse endorsement complete a minimum of 6 credits in a college-supervised school nurse practicum, half of which is completed in a school nurse office and the balance of which is completed in a classroom.
This bill codifies the previous requirements at N.J.A.C.6A:9-13.3 that a candidate for a school nurse endorsement must complete a minimum of 30 semester hour credits that includes study in subject areas determined by the State board and clinical experience in a school nurse office, in addition to holding a license as a registered nurse and a bachelor’s degree. The bill also codifies the previous requirement that a candidate for a school nurse endorsement must complete a college-supervised school nurse practicum experience in a school nurse office and a classroom. With regard to non-instructional school nurses, the bill codifies the previous requirements at N.J.A.C.6A:9-13.4 that a candidate for a non-instructional school nurse endorsement must complete a minimum of 21 credits that includes study in subject areas determined by the State board and clinical experience in a school nurse office, in addition to holding a license as a registered nurse and a bachelor’s degree.
The bill provides minimum requirements for school nurse certification and does not limit the authority of the State board to prescribe additional eligibility requirements for a school nurse endorsement or a school nurse/non-instructional endorsement.