Sponsored by:
Senator VIN GOPAL
District 11 (Monmouth)
Senator SHIRLEY K. TURNER
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators McKnight, Henry and Corrado
SYNOPSIS
“Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act”; prohibits harassment or bullying of nonpublic school students and requires nonpublic schools to adopt anti-harassment and bullying policy.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Senate Education Committee on October 1, 2026, with amendments.
An Act concerning harassment and bullying in nonpublic schools and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Jack Reid Law: Protect All Students Act.”
2. As used in this act:
“Cyberbullying” means harassment or bullying that occurs through any form of electronic communication.
“Harassment or bullying” means the creation of a hostile environment by conduct or by threats, intimidation, or abuse, including cyberbullying, that:
a. has, or would have, the effect of unreasonably and substantially interfering with a student’s educational performance, opportunities, or benefits or on the student’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being;
b. reasonably causes, or would reasonably be expected to cause, a student to fear for their physical safety;
c. reasonably causes, or would reasonably be expected to cause, physical injury or emotional harm to a student; or
d. occurs off school property and creates, or would foreseeably create, 1[a risk of substantial]1 disruption within the school environment, where it is foreseeable that the conduct, threats, intimidation, or abuse, including verbal and nonverbal actions, might reach school property.
“Nonpublic school” means an elementary or secondary school within the State, other than a public school, offering education for grades kindergarten through 12, or any combination of them, wherein any child may legally fulfill compulsory school attendance requirements 1[and which complies with the requirements of Title VI of the "Civil Rights Act of 1964," Pub.L.88-352 (42 U.S.C. s.2000d et seq.)]1.
1“School day” means any day, including a partial day, that the nonpublic school is open for instructional, athletic, or extra-curricular purposes.1
“School function” means a school-sponsored extracurricular event or activity.
“School property” means any area in or within any building, structure, athletic playing field, playground, parking lot, or land contained within the real property boundary line of a nonpublic elementary or secondary school, or in or on a school vehicle.
1“School vehicle” means and includes a school bus, school vehicle type I, or school vehicle type II as those terms are defined in R.S.39:1-1.1
3. a. Harassment or bullying, including cyberbullying, 1as defined pursuant to section 2 of this act,1 of a student enrolled in a nonpublic school by another student or students enrolled in a nonpublic school on school property 1[or] ,1 at a school function1, or occurring off school property1 shall be prohibited.
b. Upon a report of an 1alleged1 incident of harassment or bullying against a student enrolled in a nonpublic school, the principal or chief school administrator of the nonpublic school, or a designee, shall promptly investigate the incident. The principal or chief school administrator of the nonpublic school, or a designee, shall document the findings of the investigation within five school days after the completion of the investigation. The principal or chief school administrator of the nonpublic school, or designee, shall communicate the findings of the investigation with the victim in an age-appropriate manner and take immediate and appropriate action 1[to ensure that] intended to stop1 any confirmed harassment or bullying 1[is stopped]1 to 1[ensure] protect1 the safety of the victim. The principal or chief school administrator of the nonpublic school, or designee, shall take appropriate action to 1[ensure] protect1 the safety of any individual who in good faith reports an incident of harassment or bullying or assists in the investigation of an incident of harassment or bullying.
c. Each nonpublic school shall adopt an anti-harassment and bullying policy, which shall be written in plain language and published on the school’s Internet website or internal parent and student portal. The policy shall be shared annually with employees of the nonpublic school and each enrolled student and their parents or guardians. The policy shall include, but not be limited to, information on:
(1) the definition of harassment or bullying, as provided in section 1[1] 21 of this act;
(2) the process for reporting, investigating, and documenting an alleged incident of harassment or bullying; and
(3) an age-appropriate process for notifying the victim about the outcome of any investigation of an alleged incident.
d. Any nonpublic school employee who witnesses an incident of harassment or bullying, or receives an oral or written report of harassment or bullying, shall promptly notify the principal or chief school administrator of the nonpublic school, or designee, orally not later than one school day after the school employee witnesses or receives a report of bullying or harassment, and shall file a written report with the principal or head of school, or designee, within two school days.
4. 1a.1 Nothing in this act shall be construed to infringe upon any right to exercise free expression or the free exercise of religion or religiously-based views protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution 1[and] ,1 Article I of the New Jersey Constitution 1, or the religious exemption provisions of the New Jersey “Law Against Discrimination,” P.L.1945, c.169 (C.10:5-1 et seq.).
b. A nonpublic school shall not be exempt from the requirements of this act solely because the school is operated or maintained by a bona fide religious or sectarian institution.
c. The provisions of this act shall not be construed to preclude a nonpublic school from also electing to comply with the provisions of the “Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act,” P.L.2002, c.83 (C.18A:37-13 et seq.) in accordance with section 29 of P.L.2010, c.122 (C.18A:37-31)1.
15. If any provision of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this act are severable.1
1[5.] 6.1 This act shall take effect on the first day of the fourth month beginning after the date of enactment.