STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Wimberly
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits institutions of higher education and certain proprietary institutions from withholding transcript due to outstanding balance on student’s account.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the withholding of student transcripts by institutions of higher education and certain proprietary institutions and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
“Debt” means any money, obligation, claim, or sum, due or owing, or alleged to be due or owing, from a current or former student, but does not include the fee, if any, charged to all students for the actual costs of providing the transcripts; and
“Institution” means an institution of higher education or proprietary institution licensed to offer academic degrees.
2. An institution shall not, due to an outstanding balance on a current or former student’s account:
a. refuse to provide a transcript for a current or former student on the grounds that the student owes a debt;
b. condition the provision of a transcript on the payment of a debt, other than a fee charged to provide the transcript;
c. charge a higher fee for obtaining a transcript, or provide less favorable treatment of a transcript request because a current or former student owes a debt; or
d. use transcript issuance as a tool for debt collection.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits institutions of higher education and certain proprietary institutions from withholding a student’s transcript due to an outstanding balance on the student’s account.
This bill prohibits an institution, due to an outstanding balance on a current or former student’s account, from:
· refusing to provide a transcript for a current or former student on the grounds that the student owes a debt;
· conditioning the provision of a transcript on the payment of a debt, other than a fee charged to provide the transcript;
· charging a higher fee for obtaining a transcript, or provide less favorable treatment of a transcript request because a current or former student owes a debt; or
· using transcript issuance as a tool for debt collection.