SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 1020

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  DECEMBER 7, 2020

     The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Senate Bill No. 1020 with committee amendments.

     As amended, this bill requires school report cards, issued pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1995, c.235 (C.18A:7E-2) under the School Report Card Program administered by the Commissioner of Education, to include information on the number, percentage, and demographics, including race, gender, disability, grade level, and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program, of students who received one or more suspensions or expulsions or who were reported to or arrested by law enforcement, by category of offense pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement Between Education and Law Enforcement Officials.

     As amended, this bill requires the Commissioner of Education to compile data received from each school district pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1982, c.163 (C.18A:17-46) into a Statewide database that must be posted on the department’s Internet website.  The database must, at a minimum, include school level totals for each category of student disciplinary actions, including in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforcement, and arrests, as well as demographic information of the students who received the disciplinary action. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

     The committee amended the bill to remove a section of the bill that would create a new requirement that each school district and charter school submit to the Commissioner of Education a monthly report concerning data related to student disciplinary actions, including a breakdown of the data by several demographic categories.

      The committee amendments amend two sections of current law concerning the School Report Card Program and the annual report submitted by the Commissioner of Education to the Legislature detailing the extent of violence, vandalism, and harassment, intimidation or bullying.  Specifically, the committee amendments provide that the school report cards issued pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1995, c.235 (C.18A:7E-2), under the School Report Card Program administered by the Commissioner of Education, will include information on the number, percentage, and demographics including race, gender, disability, grade level, and eligibility for free or reduced price lunch under the National School Lunch Program, of students who received one or more suspensions or expulsions or who were reported to or arrested by law enforcement, by category of offense, pursuant to the provisions of the Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement Between Education and Law Enforcement Officials.

      The committee amendments also provide that the Commissioner of Education will compile data received from each school district pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1982, c.163 (C.18A:17-46) into a Statewide database that will be posted on the department’s Internet website.  The amendments provide that the Statewide database must, at a minimum, include school level totals for each category of student disciplinary actions, including in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, referrals to law enforcement, and arrests, as well as demographic information of the students who received the disciplinary action.