STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman AURA K. DUNN
District 25 (Morris and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Permits excused student absences for mental or behavioral health reasons.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act permitting excused absences from public schools for mental and behavioral health reasons and supplementing 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. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, any student absence from public school to care for the student’s mental or behavioral health needs shall be recorded as an excused absence on the student’s attendance record or on any group class of which the student is a member.
b. A parent or guardian shall provide any documentation that the superintendent or administrative principal of the school district deems necessary to prove the student meets the requirements for the excused absence related to mental or behavioral health pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
c. Any student absent pursuant to this section shall have the opportunity to make up any school work or examination missed. In making a determination on whether a student has a perfect attendance record for the school year, a school district shall not consider as an absence an excused absence authorized pursuant to this section.
d. Any transcript, application, employment form, or any similar form that concerns a student’s attendance record shall not include any excused absences authorized pursuant to this section.
2. The Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, shall develop guidelines defining an excused absence from school based on the mental or behavioral health of a student pursuant to section 1 of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the first full school year following the date of enactment. The Commissioners of Education and Health may take any anticipatory action as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires school districts to recognize and record public school student absences for mental or behavioral health reasons as excused absences. In order to have the absence recognized as a mental or behavioral health absence, the parent or guardian is required to provide any documentation that the superintendent or administrative principal of the school district deems necessary to prove the student’s absence is related to mental or behavioral health.
As an excused absence, students are required to be given the opportunity to: 1) be eligible for any award or recognition offer by the school on the basis of attendance; and 2) make up any school work or examination that was missed during the mental or behavioral health absence.
This bill requires the Commissioner of Education, in consultation with the Commissioner of Health, to develop guidelines that define an excused absence related to the mental or behavioral health of the student.
Twelve states have legislation excusing student absences for mental or behavioral health reasons. Recognizing the importance that mental health has on public school students, the sponsor intends for this bill to provide students with the flexibility they need to address their mental and behavioral health needs.