This bill mandates the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to create security risk assessment guidance specifically for public and private institutions of higher education that receive State funding. The guidance aims to help these institutions proactively identify, analyze, and evaluate various hazards and risk factors, including campus safety, data security, emergency response plans, infrastructure security, and access to mental healthcare. Additionally, the office is required to conduct a biennial review of this guidance to ensure it remains relevant and effective.

As part of the security risk assessment guidance, the office must also develop a security risk assessment checklist that institutions are required to complete annually. This checklist will cover various assessments, including site, climate, threat, capacity, and communication systems for emergency notifications. The office will provide technical assistance to ensure uniformity in completing these checklists. Importantly, both the security risk assessment guidance and checklists will be kept confidential and will not be considered public records, although they may be used to allocate State grants or loans for safety and security upgrades at the institutions.