Sponsored by:
Assemblyman BALVIR SINGH
District 7 (Burlington)
SYNOPSIS
Permits school districts to define excused absences, and provide home-instruction, for certain students whose parents are detained.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning excused absences and flexible instruction in public schools 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. A school district in developing, adopting, and implementing policies and procedures regarding attendance of students at school may define an excused absence from school to include an absence for:
(1) the sudden detention of the student’s parent or guardian by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; or
(2) a change in the designated caregiver of a student due to the sudden detention of the student’s parent or guardian by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
b. The Commissioner of Education shall develop guidelines on defining an excused absence for a school district choosing to adopt and implement a policy in accordance with the provisions of subsection a. of this section. The guidelines shall include, at a minimum, any supporting documentation that may be required by a school district upon the student’s return to school for the absence to be considered an excused absence.
2. a. A school district may adopt a policy to provide home or out-of-school instruction to a student who is unable to participate in the usual education setting as a result of:
(1) the sudden detention of the student’s parent or guardian by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement; or
(2) a change in the designated caregiver of a student due to the sudden detention of the student’s parent or guardian by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
b. The Commissioner of Education shall develop guidelines on the provision of home or out-of-school instruction pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The guidelines shall include, at a minimum:
(1) procedures for a student or designated caregiver to request home or out-of-school instruction;
(2) any supporting documentation that may be required by a school district to be included in a student or other designated caregiver’s request for home or out-of-school instruction; and
(3) standards for the provision of home or out-of-school instruction pursuant to this section.
3. The State Board of Education shall, in accordance with the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), adopt rules and regulations as necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the first full school year following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Education and State Board of Education may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill permits school districts to define excused absences, and provide home instruction, for certain students whose parents are detained by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This bill provides statutory authority for a school district, in developing, adopting, and implementing its policies and procedures regarding attendance of students at school, to define an excused absence from school to include an absence for: (1) the sudden detention of the student’s parent or guardian by ICE; or (2) a change in the designated caregiver of a student due to the sudden detention of the student’s parent or guardian by ICE.
Under the bill, the Commissioner of Education will develop guidelines on defining an excused absence from school for these reasons. The guidelines would include any supporting documentation that may be required by the school district upon the student’s return to school for the absence to be considered an excused absence.
The bill also permits a school district to adopt a policy to provide home or out-of-school instruction to a student who is unable to participate in the usual education setting as a result of the detention of a student’s parent or guardian by ICE or a change in the student’s designated caregiver due to the detention of the student’s parent or guardian. The bill requires the Commissioner of Education to develop various minimum guidelines for inclusion in the policy. Current State Board of Education regulations permit home or out-of-school instruction in only limited circumstances. This bill would allow districts to provide home or out-of-school instruction regulations for the reasons expressed in the bill.