NJSBA has updated the following model policies and legal references:
3541.33 Transportation Safety
This policy was updated to include the requirement that school bus drivers and school bus aides complete the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) training on the proper procedures for interacting with students with special needs (N.J.S.A. 18A:39-19.2 through 19.4). The NJDOE training program includes appropriate behavior management; effective communication; use and operation of adaptive equipment; and understanding behaviors that may be related to specific disabilities. The training program: The Department of Education School Bus Driver and Aide Training for Interacting with Students with Special Need; is located on the New Jersey Department of Education website.
This training must be administered by the district to employees that are school bus drivers and school bus aides prior to these personnel providing transportation services to students. If the district engages a contractor to provide transportation services it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the school bus drivers and school bus aides complete the training. The employee is required to certify to the board or, if the board contracts with transportation service provider, to their employer, that they have completed the training program within five business days of its completion.
The parent or guardian of a student with an individualized education plan (IEP) and who receives transportation services must also complete the student bus information card when the individualized education plan is developed or amended. Upon receiving consent from a student’s parent or guardian, a copy of the completed student bus information card shall be provided to the student’s assigned school bus driver and school bus aide.
The policy was amended to include a section titled: Training for Interacting with Students with Special Needs. The NJDOE Student Bus Information Card is also provided as an exhibit at this file code.
6114 Emergency and Disaster Preparedness
The section on Fire and School Security Drills was updated to require that all full-time employees and not just teachers must receive training on school security drills. The content was expanded to give more details about the required drills. The section of Required Drills was also amended to remove to statements that were moved into the content of the section titled: Fire and School Security Drills
6145.1/6145.2 Interscholastic and Intramural Competition
The two updates described below are required for school districts and charter schools that have grades 9-12 only.
A section was added titled: Charter School Students. This update is for compliance with law (N.J.A.C. 6A:11-4.14) and allows that when a secondary charter school does not offer the particular sport in which one of its full-time students wishes to participate, the student may participate in the sport at his or her school of residence upon agreement of both principals. This policy update may be amended by a district board of education to take a position that the district will allow charter school students to participate on the district teams. (Note: the CPRM, Charter School Edition has an update that is customized for charter schools and worded differently than the District CPRM.)
A second section was also added titled: Varsity Letters. Policy is required and allows a district to award varsity letters for any school-sponsored, interscholastic extracurricular activity that includes competitions in which the student competes against students enrolled in schools outside of the district (N.J.S.A. 18A:42-7). The content in the update that requires the activity leader to develop criteria for determining outstanding performance and the general list of criteria is discretionary and may be amended to reflect your district practice.
You may directly download these policy updates from the Critical Policy Reference Manual (CPRM) district or charter versions or the Policy Update List on your password protected Policy Resources webpage. You may also contact a policy consultant at (609)278-5268 or email: Jean Harkness, policy consultant,or Steve McGettigan, policy manager.