STATE OF NEW JERSEY
219th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman P. CHRISTOPHER TULLY
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman LISA SWAIN
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes pilot program in DOE to purchase and install electronic smoking device detectors in restrooms of certain public schools.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the installation of electronic smoking device detectors in certain public schools.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
“Electronic smoking device” means a nonlighted, noncombustible device that employs a mechanical heating element, battery, or circuit, regardless of shape or size, to produce aerosolized or vaporized nicotine for inhalation into the body of a person including, but not limited to, a device that is manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, e-hookah, vape pen, or any other similar product with any other product name or descriptor.
2. a. The Commissioner of Education shall establish a three-year pilot program under which the Department of Education shall provide for the purchase and installation of electronic smoking device detectors in the restrooms of schools serving any of the grades 7 through 12 in selected school districts. The goal of the pilot program shall be to study the effect of electronic smoking device detectors on deterring electronic smoking device use by students in schools.
b. A school district that wants to participate in the pilot program shall submit an application to the commissioner. The application shall include, but need not be limited to: the number of schools serving any of the grades 7 through 12 in the school district; the number of students enrolled in each school; the number of restrooms accessible to students in each school; information on student use of electronic smoking devices in each school; and information on the rate of electronic smoking device use in the local community.
c. The commissioner, in consultation with the Department of Health, shall identify municipalities with the highest rate of persons under 18 years of age using electronic smoking devices. The commissioner shall select up to 12 school districts for participation in the pilot program, and they shall be, to the greatest extent possible, located in municipalities which have been identified by the commissioner pursuant to this subsection.
d. No later than June 30 of the third school year following the establishment of the pilot program, the commissioner shall submit to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C:52:14-19.1), a report that evaluates the effectiveness of the pilot program in deterring electronic smoking device use by students in schools.
3. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a three-year pilot program under which the Department of Education will provide for the purchase and installation of electronic smoking device detectors in the restrooms of schools serving any of the grades 7 through 12 in selected school districts. The goal of the pilot program will be to study the effect of electronic smoking device detectors on deterring electronic smoking device use by students in schools.
Under the bill, a school district that wants to participate in the pilot program is required to submit an application to the commissioner. The application is required to include, but need not be limited to: the number of schools serving any of the grades 7 through 12 in the school district; the number of students enrolled in each school; the number of restrooms accessible to students in each school; information on student use of electronic smoking devices in each school; and information on the rate of electronic smoking device use in the local community.
The commissioner, in consultation with the Department of Health, will identify municipalities with the highest rate of persons under 18 years of age using electronic smoking devices. The commissioner will select up to 12 school districts for participation in the pilot program, and they will be, to the greatest extent possible, located in municipalities identified by the commissioner as having high rates of electronic smoking device use by persons under 18 years of age.
No later than June 30 of the third school year following the establishment of the pilot program, the commissioner will submit to the Governor and to the Legislature a report that evaluates the effectiveness of the pilot program in deterring electronic smoking device use by pupils in schools.