TRENTON – The Senate passed legislation sponsored by Senator Troy Singleton that would require non-public schools to forward the disciplinary records of any student who transfers to a public school.

“Private schools must be held to the same standard as public schools when it comes to reporting the disciplinary records of our students,” said Senator Singleton. “Student safety depends on transparency and accountability. By requiring the transfer of disciplinary records when students move between any school, we can close the gap in the current law and help ensure that school officials have access to the information necessary to protect students and staff.”

Current law establishes procedures only for a public school administrator to request disciplinary records for a student when the student transfers from one public school district to another. The bill, S-1819, would expand this requirement, mandating that nonpublic schools provide school districts with information regarding any offense a student has been charged with or convicted of.

Under the bill, a nonpublic school would be required to provide a student’s disciplinary record within 14 days of receiving a written request from the school district to which the student is transferring. If the record is not provided within that time frame, the receiving district would be required to use all available means to obtain the information.

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