STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LISA SWAIN
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman P. CHRISTOPHER TULLY
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman ROY FREIMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Vainieri Huttle
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOE to develop and disseminate training materials for school employees on laws governing use of electronic smoking devices.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act requiring the Department of Education to develop and disseminate certain training material for school employees 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. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, shall develop and disseminate training materials on local, State, and federal laws regarding the use of electronic smoking devices, including vaping devices, by persons under the age of 21. The training materials shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) information on the health impacts of electronic smoking devices on the smoker and those near to the smoker;
(2) relevant local, State, and federal laws, including the “New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act,” P.L.2005, c.383 (C.26:3D-55 et seq.), on the use of electronic smoking devices by persons under the age of 21 and the use of those devices on school grounds; and
(3) recommendations on disciplinary actions that may be taken by school officials to address students who violate the laws on the use of electronic smoking devices and actions that a district might initiate to assist students with a dependency on those devices.
b. The commissioner shall update the materials on an annual basis to reflect the most current information.
c. The commissioner shall disseminate the training materials to all school districts in the State on an annual basis before the start of each school year. Each school district shall provide the training materials to all school employees in the district and ensure that employees have a complete understanding of the information included in the training materials.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill directs the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, to develop and disseminate training materials on local, State, and federal laws regarding the use of electronic smoking devices, including vaping devices, by persons under the age of 21. The training materials will include, but not be limited to: information on the health impacts of electronic smoking devices on the smoker and those around the smoker; relevant local, State, and federal laws, including the “New Jersey Smoke-Free Air Act,” P.L.2005, c.383 (C.26:3D-55 et seq.), regarding the use of electronic smoking devices by persons under the age of 21; and recommendations on disciplinary actions that may be taken by school officials to address students who violate the laws on the use of electronic smoking devices and actions that a district might initiate to assist students with a dependency on those devices.
The Commissioner of Education must update and distribute the training materials on an annual basis, before the start of each school year. Each school district will provide the materials to school employees and ensure that they have a complete understating of the information.