TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Shirley K. Turner and Joseph F. Vitale that would enable school districts to more easily collect vital data from students was approved by the Senate Education Committee today. The bill (S-1696) would permit students to participate in voluntary surveys if the district sends prior written notification to the students’ parents.
The measure would help remove some of the barriers that impede New Jersey’s ability to collect data important to public health and safety issues affecting the state’s student population, particularly data needed to comply with federal reporting requirements or to help obtain grants. In light of this, numerous non-profit agencies and federal grantees have halted their surveys or are seriously struggling to comply with the provisions of the current statutes.
