This bill mandates that school districts in New Jersey enhance their protocols for responding to threats against the school community. It requires school employees to immediately inform the principal or their designee if they have knowledge of any threats of serious harm. Upon receiving such information, the principal or designee must promptly report the incident to law enforcement. If the law enforcement agency assesses the threat as credible and imminent, the principal must notify students, parents, and staff, prohibit the individual from accessing school property, and distribute a list of those individuals to relevant school personnel. The bill also allows non-employees to report threats, while ensuring that school staff are protected from liability when acting in good faith.

Additionally, the bill amends existing law to require that training for school employees on safety and security includes emergency response protocols, specifically focusing on notifying the school community of threats and implementing procedures to restrict access to certain individuals at school events. This training is to be modeled after the New Jersey School Safety Specialist Academy's guidelines and must involve collaboration with emergency responders to improve overall safety measures. The bill emphasizes the importance of addressing the unique needs of students with disabilities during emergency situations, ensuring that all staff are adequately prepared to respond to various scenarios.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 18A:41-7