STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman MICHAEL TORRISSI, JR.
District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)
Assemblywoman CLEOPATRA G. TUCKER
District 28 (Essex and Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman DeAngelo
SYNOPSIS
Requires DOE to include military-connected student identifier in student-level database; requires district inform teacher when military-connected student enrolls in class taught by teacher.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning the maintenance of certain student information and supplementing chapter 7E and chapter 36 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section, “military-connected student” means a student enrolled in a public school in the State who is a dependent of a member of:
(1) the armed forces of the United States, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard;
(2) the National Guard; or
(1) any other reserve component of the armed forces.
b. The student-level database maintained by the Department of Education shall include an identifier for military-connected students. The Commissioner of Education shall include information in the report issued pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1995, c.235 (C.18A:7E-1 et seq.), that summarizes the academic engagement and outcomes of military-connected students, including attendance rates, performance on State assessments, and high school graduation rates. The information shall be consistent with the provisions of the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974” (20 U.S.C. s.1232g).
2. a. As used in this section, “military-connected student” means a student enrolled in a public school in the State who is a dependent of a member of:
(1) the armed forces of the United States, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard;
(2) the National Guard; or
(3) any other reserve component of the armed forces.
b. A school district shall notify a classroom teacher of the enrollment of a military-connected student in any class taught by the teacher. The purpose of the notification is to provide the teacher with the opportunity to monitor a military-connected student’s level of academic engagement, and to provide additional academic support to the student as needed.
c. A parent or guardian of a military-connected student may opt their child out of being identified to the teacher as a military-connected student, pursuant to subsection b. of this section. At the request of a parent or guardian, the school district shall not notify a classroom teacher of the enrollment of the military-connected student pursuant to this section.
3. This act shall take
effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year
following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Department of Education to maintain an indicator for military-connected students in its student-level database. The bill also requires the Commissioner of Education to annually report statistics on the academic engagement and outcomes of these students, including attendance rates, performance on the State assessments, and high school graduation rates. The reported information must be consistent with the provisions of federal law that protect the confidentiality of student records. The bill also allows a parent or guardian to opt their child out of being identified as a military-connected student, in which case the student’s classroom teacher will not be notified upon enrollment.