ASSEMBLY, No. 1588
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblywoman MILA M. JASEY
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblyman RAJ MUKHERJI
District 33 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson, Assemblyman Wimberly and Assemblywoman Park
SYNOPSIS
Permits use of preferred names on student diplomas.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As reported by the Assembly Education Committee on February 7, 2022, with amendments.
An Act concerning the use of preferred names on student diplomas and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. All public and nonpublic schools, institutions of higher education, and proprietary institutions licensed to offer academic degrees shall provide a graduating student with an option to request that a diploma be conferred by the school or institution listing the student’s preferred name. A school or institution shall not require a graduating student to provide legal documentation sufficient to demonstrate a legal name or gender change to permit the student to use a preferred name.
A school or institution shall have the right to deny a preferred name request if the preferred name is intended to:
a. misrepresent the person’s identity or misappropriate the identity of another person;
b. avoid a legal obligation;
c. harm the reputation or interests of the school or institution; or
d. be derogatory, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate.
2. a. A public or nonpublic school, institution of higher education, or proprietary institution licensed to offer degrees shall update a former student’s records provided that the former student provides sufficient documentation that the former student’s legal name or gender has been changed. Documents sufficient to demonstrate a legal name or gender change include, but need not be limit to, the following:
(1) state-issued driver’s license;
(2) birth certificate;
(3) passport;
(4) social security card; or
(5) court order indicating a name change, gender change, or both.
b. Upon receipt of proper
documentation sufficient to demonstrate a legal name or gender change, a school
or institution shall reissue any documents conferred upon the former student
with the former student’s updated legal name or gender. Documents that shall
be reissued by the school or institution upon request include, but need not be
limited to, a transcript or diploma conferred by the school or institution. 1A
school or institution may charge a nominal
fee for the reissuance of any document requested by a former student pursuant to this section.1
3. This act shall take effect on the first full day of the third month next following the date of enactment.