SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 1657

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  NOVEMBER 10, 2025

      The Senate Education Committee favorably reports Assembly Bill No. 1657 (1R) with committee amendments.

As amended, this bill permits a student assistance coordinator, school counselor, or school psychologist or other mental health professional working in a school district to refer, or help facilitate the referral of, a student to an individual or practice licensed to provide professional counseling, for mental health assessments and services.  A student assistance coordinator, school counselor, or school psychologist or other mental health professional working in a school district is prohibited from referring a student to an individual or practice licensed to provide professional counseling with whom the district employee, or the employee’s immediate family, or the employee in combination with his or her family has a significant beneficial interest.

     In the case of a student who is not legally permitted to consent to the assessments and services, the bill requires the student’s parent or guardian to be notified of, and consent to, the referral or the facilitation of the referral, prior to the provision of any assessment or service by the licensed private individual or practice. A licensed individual or practice is required to obtain consent from a student, or from the parent or guardian in the case of a student who is not legally permitted to consent, before providing mental health assessments or services.

     In the case of a referral or the facilitation of a referral of a student to an individual or practice licensed to provide professional counseling, the bill provides that neither the school district nor the individual making the referral or facilitating the referral will be required to bear the cost of the assessments and services provided to the student, unless otherwise provided by law.

      This bill would not limit a school district’s authority to provide mental health assessments and services to students prior to or after a referral or the facilitation of a referral has been made to an individual or practice licensed to provide professional counseling.

      As amended and reported by the committee, Assembly Bill No. 1657 (1R) is identical to Senate Bill No. 2380, which was also amended and reported by the committee on this date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

· require a licensed individual or practice to obtain consent from a student, or from the parent or guardian in the case of a student who is not legally permitted to consent, before providing mental health assessments or services; and

· specify that a school district or individual referring or facilitating the referral for mental health assessments and services will not be required to bear the cost of the assessments or services provided to a student, unless otherwise provided by law.