Sponsored by:
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires institution of higher education to collect certain information concerning student parents.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning student parents enrolled in institutions of higher education 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. a. An institution of higher education shall submit an annual report on or before July 1 of each year to the Secretary of Higher Education concerning student parents. The report shall include:
(1) the number of full-time and part-time student parents enrolled in the institution, disaggregated by demographic subgroups; and
(2) data on the academic outcomes of student parents, including transfer, withdrawal, and graduation rates.
b. An institution shall post the report prepared pursuant to subsection a. of this section on the Internet website of the institution.
c. The secretary shall prepare an annual report containing a compilation of the data collected pursuant to subsection a. of this section. The secretary shall post the report on the Internet website of the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education.
d. Data collected and made available pursuant to this section shall be subject to the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act,” (20 U.S.C. s.1232g) and any other State or federal laws applicable to the confidentiality and privacy of student records. The data made available shall not include personal identifying information, which shall be deemed confidential.
e. As used in this section, “student parent” means a student enrolled in an undergraduate degree program of an institution of higher education who is the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 years of age.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires an institution of higher education to collect certain information concerning certain student parents.
Under the bill, an institution of higher education is required to submit an annual report on or before July 1 of each year to the Secretary of Higher Education on student parents, defined as a student enrolled in an undergraduate degree program of an institution of higher education who is the parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 years of age. The report is to include: (1) the number of full-time and part-time student parents enrolled in the institution, disaggregated by demographic subgroups; and (2) data on the academic outcomes of student parents, including transfer, withdrawal, and graduation rates. The report is to be posted on the Internet website of the institution.